Solar ‘to beat’ nuclear strike price
The nuclear power strike price unveiled by DECC today is set to be beaten by PV, the Solar Trade Association claims.
The body says the figure of £89.50 per MWh, potentially rising to £92.50 per MWh, over 35 years for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset also fails to account for “the additional costs of nuclear waste management”.
By comparison, it claimed solar will require around £86 per MWh for 15 years in 2019/20 based on 2012 prices and if its support was spread over 35 years instead of 15 the strike price would be even lower.
Chief executive Paul Barwell said: “Renewables must be treated on a level playing field. Solar power has already achieved unprecedented cost reductions over the last three years and is projected to continue to reduce costs in real terms over the next decade.
“Solar power risks being unfairly constrained in the UK even when it will be cheaper than other low carbon technologies.”
The Renewable Energy Association, meanwhile, said the strike price “does nothing to address the looming capacity crunch warned of by the Royal Academy of Engineers last week”.
Chief executive Nina Skorupska said: “Hinkley will still be a construction site when old coal and nuclear capacity is shut down. In contrast, the government could start plugging the generation gap straight away with another reliable low carbon solution: biomass.
She echoed Barwell’s call for a “level playing field”, saying government needed to “explain why it is subsidising nuclear for 35 years compared with 15 years for renewables”.
DECC revealed the nuclear strike price as part of a proposed investment contract for Hinkley Point C. The project, the funding for which is led by EDF, is the first new nuclear power station in the UK since Sizewell B and is slated to go live in 2023.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey (pictured) said: “This is an excellent deal for Britain and British consumers. For the first time, a nuclear power station in this country will be built without money from the British taxpayer.”
Image: DECC
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