UK govt sabotages energy efficiency program to ensure market for nuclear power (93%YOY drop)

[kristopher]

14. Says longtime diehard nuclear advocate joshcryer...

The Conservative govt in the UK is doing everything they can to ensure new nuclear does get built. They've set a planning target of 50 plants with a total capacity of 75GW, and they are clearly willing to do anything at all to make that happen. It has taken them a number of years to get around the pledge to not subsidize nuclear, but they took the plunge this year.

Fifty new nuclear plants could be goal in official energy plans
21 Dec 2013: Documents submitted to Department of Energy and Climate Change raise questions regarding future energy policy
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/21/nuclear-plants-energy-plans


Toshiba to buy majority stake in UK nuclear consortium
26 Dec 2013: Japanese company keen to kickstart ambitious reactor building programme that stalled after 2011 disaster at Fukushima
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/26/toshiba-stake-uk-nuclear-consortium

To help with the economics they not only needed to subsidize the reactors, they need to ensure a market will exist where the per kWh subsidy can be paid out. To that end they have turned against renewables and energy efficiency in order to sell every kWh of electricity they produce at those plants.

The only remaining obstacle is the EU investigation of their subsidy plan.
Hinkley Point C nuclear subsidy plan queried by European commission
Officials promise to investigate, saying they doubt claims of market failure and fear UK will start a 'subsidy race'
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/18/hinkley-point-c-nuclear-subsidy-european-commission