EDF - Hinkley Point 'C'
Discussion
The problem is that there are no grown ups on the horizon. I left school and spent a year at Sellafield before going University 16 years ago, they were working out where to put new nuclear build then, it had been urgently needed for a decade or two and something had to be done. Nothing has really happened since, we're 30 years past the point where this needed to start.
I've mentioned this before, but in 2000 we owned Westinghouse and could have done all this much simpler than now. Gordon Brown sold it off for pocket change to Hitachi. Westinghouse are filling China with AP1000s at £3bn a pop, money that could have been coming into the UK and talent that could have been building for years rather than the hot air we've had from Government instead.
I've mentioned this before, but in 2000 we owned Westinghouse and could have done all this much simpler than now. Gordon Brown sold it off for pocket change to Hitachi. Westinghouse are filling China with AP1000s at £3bn a pop, money that could have been coming into the UK and talent that could have been building for years rather than the hot air we've had from Government instead.
paulrockliffe said:
The problem is that there are no grown ups on the horizon. I left school and spent a year at Sellafield before going University 16 years ago, they were working out where to put new nuclear build then, it had been urgently needed for a decade or two and something had to be done. Nothing has really happened since, we're 30 years past the point where this needed to start.
I've mentioned this before, but in 2000 we owned Westinghouse and could have done all this much simpler than now. Gordon Brown sold it off for pocket change to Hitachi. Westinghouse are filling China with AP1000s at £3bn a pop, money that could have been coming into the UK and talent that could have been building for years rather than the hot air we've had from Government instead.
Same as airport expansion, politicians are too scared of losing votes rather than taking big decisions for the future of the country, short-termism rules.I've mentioned this before, but in 2000 we owned Westinghouse and could have done all this much simpler than now. Gordon Brown sold it off for pocket change to Hitachi. Westinghouse are filling China with AP1000s at £3bn a pop, money that could have been coming into the UK and talent that could have been building for years rather than the hot air we've had from Government instead.
Has that board meeting finished yet?
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/28/re...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/28/re...
Edited by ALawson on Thursday 28th July 16:17
Smiler. said:
The other depressing thing said was along the lines of "too much face will be lost if it's not built, so it will be".
Political expediency operating at full steam then. Great.
I can't believe we're gonna be stuck with energy at the equivalent oil price of $300/bbl just to avoid a few egos getting bruised, given the impact that energy costs have on the rest of the economy.Political expediency operating at full steam then. Great.
Seems like madness that something so important can come down to personal issues.
For $25bn we could build a couple of large NG plants for security and and throw the rest at UK renewables to get the that industry going.
Or just write off the cost altogether (govt borrowing is pretty cheap right now) and not have an economic millstone around our necks for a generation.
Luther Blisset said:
Smiler. said:
The other depressing thing said was along the lines of "too much face will be lost if it's not built, so it will be".
Political expediency operating at full steam then. Great.
I can't believe we're gonna be stuck with energy at the equivalent oil price of $300/bbl just to avoid a few egos getting bruised, given the impact that energy costs have on the rest of the economy.Political expediency operating at full steam then. Great.
Seems like madness that something so important can come down to personal issues.
For $25bn we could build a couple of large NG plants for security and and throw the rest at UK renewables to get the that industry going.
Or just write off the cost altogether (govt borrowing is pretty cheap right now) and not have an economic millstone around our necks for a generation.
In the event that happens expect this to be wheeled out.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windfall_Tax_(Unit...
So it has been given the go-ahead, no surprises there then.
Now Theresa, tell whoever get on with HS2 and Runway 3 at Heathrow - No f
king about, show them you mean business. 
(In reality I know bugger all about any of these subjects, I am just pissed off with all the media reports of will they/wont they)
Now Theresa, tell whoever get on with HS2 and Runway 3 at Heathrow - No f
king about, show them you mean business. (In reality I know bugger all about any of these subjects, I am just pissed off with all the media reports of will they/wont they)
Edited by 750turbo on Thursday 28th July 22:10
louiebaby said:
Asked by Conservative MP James Heappey why it was “reasonable for us to assume it but not reasonable for you to just say it”, Mr de Rivaz responded: “I am very pleased to give you the privilege to make the assumption and to draw the right conclusion as you have done.”
Brilliant. They have been repeated on yesterday channel this week, and if anything are more true to life now than then. Smiler. said:
Why not just fast-track a gas turbine programme nationally to plug the gap until some grown-ups can get involved. I know that this means a re-establishment of home-grown talent but why not? It's not like the energy issue is going to disappear any time soon.
That said, I wouldn't trust any of the major construction players in the UK further than I could throw them. They all appear to be a bent as a 9-bob note.
We've built them before so there's no reason why we could not do so again, it just requires the political will; one of the points made by the talking heads on Today was that EDF have the knowhow(stop giggling at the back) to build nuclear power stations and that this will be a 24ct moneyspinner once they've got the hang of it(I said stop giggling!). It's true there's money to be made from churning out NPPs, but I suspect it's Hitachi and Westinghouse who are making the profits rather than EDF, if only because no-one other than us, the finns and the chinese have bought EPR as it's so bloody expensive compared to the competition.That said, I wouldn't trust any of the major construction players in the UK further than I could throw them. They all appear to be a bent as a 9-bob note.
Luther Blisset said:
I can't believe we're gonna be stuck with energy at the equivalent oil price of $300/bbl just to avoid a few egos getting bruised, given the impact that energy costs have on the rest of the economy.
Seems like madness that something so important can come down to personal issues.
For $25bn we could build a couple of large NG plants for security and and throw the rest at UK renewables to get the that industry going.
Or just write off the cost altogether (govt borrowing is pretty cheap right now) and not have an economic millstone around our necks for a generation.
The price is somewhat high, but rather better than your suggestion of renewables; offshore wind is around 50% more than the price EDF are guaranteed, and that's before you factor in the cost of intermittency and back-up power. The smarter thing would be to get the planned AP1000s or Hitachi BWRs moved up the schedule and ground broken now rather than in 5-10 years time.Seems like madness that something so important can come down to personal issues.
For $25bn we could build a couple of large NG plants for security and and throw the rest at UK renewables to get the that industry going.
Or just write off the cost altogether (govt borrowing is pretty cheap right now) and not have an economic millstone around our necks for a generation.
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