O/T. Hinkley Point.

[Leekbrookgull]

At £18billion and that will no doubt go up and i believe ready by 2025 (?) and again no doubt that will change,one does have to ask would this money and time be better spent on alternative forms of power ? Surely with a cost input and timeline that Hinkley has been given new ways of creating energy are the way forward ? One only have to look at a mobile phone today as compared to ten years ago,ok energy supply is a different ball game,but where there is a will there is a way ?

 

[nickbrighton]

having worked in the energy industry for a decade, i know how close we have come on a couple of occasions to quite literally running out of power. alternative technologies will one day provide enough, but we are not at the stage that they can provide the amount of energy required in the time frame needed. Even if Hinkley gets approved and work starts tommorow- we are cutting it awfully fine to avoid the "energy gap" which may well occur in the next few years. Even now it only takes a couple of faults at different power stations to have us dangerously close to not having enough power to keep all the lights on. We need massive investment in alternative energy supply, AND we need nuclear. Sucessive governments have ignored the need for infrastructure investment in energy, rail, roads etc, and now we are reaping the rewards in all these areas

 

[Cian]

Baseload will always be required and cannot be provided by renewables (Despite the posts I know I'll get in response to this of untested, spurious technologies). Nukes provide that baseload quite easily.

 

[Martlet]

Plus. The strike price is fixed. The £18bn is Edf's risk not ours

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Accecpt alot of what you say 'nick' as in the UK it does seem to be put off until you can't wait any longer. However 7% has to be questioned as value for money and i am not what you would call a Green voter and i understand what you say about if a plant goes offline and the demand issues that it creates. It,s just look at the internet and mobile phones and how far development over a short time has taken them,just makes me wonder what could be achieved energy wise if we did the same with energy.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Cian,your baseload point is correct,all i am asking is as a nation are we putting in enough time and money in alternatives ? The market is out there let,s a nation go out there a grab it.

 

[Ernest]

This will cost us a fortune in the long run, should be paid for by the country not foreign 'investors'

 

[crookie]

This will cost us a fortune in the long run, should be paid for by the country not foreign 'investors'

Correct, the Govt can borrow the money cheaper than anyone else, how sad and humiliating that we go cap in hand to France and China FFS to ensure our energy supply. Economic madness. PFI anyone ?

 

[crookie]

We used to have a nuclear energy company, British Energy was it ? Whatever happened to them ? Flogged off I suppose, or wound up as we never bothered to get round to investing in our own power station construction, embarrassing.

 

[vegster]

We used to have a nuclear energy company, British Energy was it ? Whatever happened to them ? Flogged off I suppose, or wound up as we never bothered to get round to investing in our own power station construction, embarrassing.

I think this is genuinely a sad day for this country, we have to beg and bribe France and China to build a nuclear bomb on our back step and pay massively over the top for the privilege.

 

[alfredmizen]

This will cost us a fortune in the long run, should be paid for by the country not foreign 'investors'

A rare moment of agreement.

 

[alfredmizen]

Baseload will always be required and cannot be provided by renewables (Despite the posts I know I'll get in response to this of untested, spurious technologies). Nukes provide that baseload quite easily.

Baseload can vary , do you understand what baseload is, as in baseload/peakload ?

 

[Martlet]

A rare moment of agreement.

But it's not just about foreign investors. Edf is one of two companies globally that have a proven ability to build nuclear reactors, and also have a desire to invest in the place they build them. The HP design is based on one that's currently being built in Normandy, and should be tried-and-tested by the time they switch it on in the UK.

The last reactor we designed/built here is now 40-odd years old. For us to do it ourselves would mean investing huge sums in designing a new reactor, and then investing in construction as well.

That leaves the funding - the consumers will pay either way, whether via government loans or through energy bills. With EDF also back-stopping the construction costs, my view is that we've got as good a deal as we could get on this.

 

[blockhseagull]

My worry is EDF, they already have two reactors that don't work and they have been unable to get working

I'm pretty sure the design will change with the Chinese investment and they will switch to the reactors they have up and working in China.

 

[Seasider78]

having worked in the energy industry for a decade, i know how close we have come on a couple of occasions to quite literally running out of power. alternative technologies will one day provide enough, but we are not at the stage that they can provide the amount of energy required in the time frame needed. Even if Hinkley gets approved and work starts tommorow- we are cutting it awfully fine to avoid the "energy gap" which may well occur in the next few years. Even now it only takes a couple of faults at different power stations to have us dangerously close to not having enough power to keep all the lights on. We need massive investment in alternative energy supply, AND we need nuclear. Sucessive governments have ignored the need for infrastructure investment in energy, rail, roads etc, and now we are reaping the rewards in all these areas

Agree with this we are in danger of falling miles behind in the required infrastructure to support a rapidly growing population from housing to roads to HS2

Any project can get delayed which is all the more reason to get moving on this now

 

[Hampster Gull]

This will cost us a fortune in the long run, should be paid for by the country not foreign 'investors'

I didnt realise the Looney Left supported nuclear power

 

[beorhthelm]

Cian,your baseload point is correct,all i am asking is as a nation are we putting in enough time and money in alternatives ? The market is out there let,s a nation go out there a grab it.

feel free to suggest the carbon free alternatives. theres a dilema over risking alot of cash on unproven tech that may fail or a less risky proven tech. there are questions about cost and the specific tech for this plant (slightly contradicting my point) but at this point we must progress with something, and prehaps get a better nuclear option for the next. because nuclear is the only game in town when you want reliable and carbon free, and even at the strike price offered its cheaper than offshore wind.

 

[Driver 8]

One thing that confuses me is that if nuclear power is so safe why build it on such remote places? Surely the infrastructure would be much cheaper if they built a power station for London in London?

 

[blockhseagull]

One thing that confuses me is that if nuclear power is so safe why build it on such remote places? Surely the infrastructure would be much cheaper if they built a power station for London in London?

Built near large water masses in order for water to be used to cool the reactor core. A massive tunnel is being built out into the channel to provide water to cool the reactor at Hinkley.

 

[Driver 8]

Built near large water masses in order for water to be used to cool the reactor core. A massive tunnel is being built out into the channel to provide water to cool the reactor at Hinkley.

Thames not big enough?