Dear Chris Huhne, Although I would have
preferred the LibCon
Coalition to rule out any new nuclear power stations in the UK, I am
somewhat reassured by the commitment that any new nuclear power stations
should "receive no public subsidy" (" The Coalition: our programme for
government", page 17). As you will know, existing nuclear
installations in the UK enjoy a range of subsidies. These are described
in some detail in the Nuclear Subsidies report (PDF, 189
KB) from the Energy Fair group. The report can be
downloaded
via the link just given but I will send a printed copy to you as well. The
main subsidies described in that report are: - Limitations
on liabilities: the operators of nuclear plants pay much less than
the full cost of insuring against a Chernobyl-style accident or worse.
- Underwriting
of commercial risks: operators of nuclear plants cannot be allowed
to fail.
- Protection against terrorist attacks: at least
some of the cost of protection against terrorist attacks is born by the
Government.
- Short-to-medium-term cost of disposing of
nuclear waste: operators of nuclear plants are not paying the full
cost of disposing of nuclear waste.
- Long-term cost of
disposing of nuclear waste: much of the long-term cost of disposing
of nuclear waste will be paid by people who are not yet born.
- Underwriting
the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants: the Government bears
the risk of cost over-runs in decommissioning nuclear plants.
- Institutional
support for nuclear power: the Government is providing various
forms of institutional support for the nuclear industry.
Please
would you confirm that these subsidies for existing nuclear
installations will not be provided for any new nuclear plants in
the UK. Sincerely, Gerry Wolff
--
Dr Gerry Wolff PhD CEng
Energy
Fair
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