The Editor, Letters, The Financial Times Dear Sir Monsieur
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy asserts ("A nuclear
Britain can lead the way on emissions," Comment, January 8) that “EDF
has never looked for subsidy for nuclear.” Nuclear generators such as
EDF do not have to "look for" subsidies because they are already
in-built into the financial infastructureon which nuclear
energy depends. 1. With which insurance company has EDF made agreement to underwrite 100% of the liability should any accident happen at one or more of the planned new reactors and its associated facilities including spent fuel stores and nuclear materials in transit to and from the plant site? As no subsidies are either sought or required by EDF, can you confirm EDF will not accept any state underwriting of insurance at all, regardless of any revisions to be made in Paris /Vienna conventions on nuclear liability? 2. What
proportion of the publicly funded research and development into the
planned underground repository for high activity nuclear waste will
be refunded by EDF should any irradiated spent fuel be finally
emplaced in such a repository; and will EDF refuse to accept a ‘cap’ –
as Government proposes - on the unit cost for
radioactive waste from its proposed new nuclear plants, and commit to
paying the full financial cost for the long term management/disposal of
its radioactive waste, whatever that turns out to be? “You raise a number of speculative scenarios and questions about Government policy proposals.” He added “The UK faces a serious and increasingly urgent challenge to ensure clean, secure and affordable energy supplies. It is for Government to determine policy on how this challenge should be met and to set the rules and regulations within which the private sector can deliver the low carbon investments the country urgently needs.” And concluded: ”I am afraid I cannot comment on your speculative scenarios and so I believe we have answered your questions as fully is appropriate.” I find it utterly unacceptable that a foreign company can propose to build several new nuclear reactors in Britain, and decline to demonstrate public accountability, especially as its plans will result in the British taxpayer being lumbered with potentially massive future liabilities for generations to come. All of this without the loan guarantees, de facto subsidies, I expect to see being claimed by nuclear companies if their desired nuclear reactor construction projects are given the go-ahead. As ever, the devil is in the detail., but EDF prefers sweeping generalities. Atomic affordability for EDF and other aspirant atomic generators -comes with significant subsidies from British taxpayers. Sincerely Dr David Lowry Environmental policy and research consultant co-author, The International Politics of Nuclear Waste (Macmillan Press, 1991); contributing author, Nuclear or Not? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, second edition) |