What’s the Hinkley point?
Analysis from UCL Energy Institute suggests that the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear plant will be obsolete within a decade of being built.
Hinkley Point C nuclear plant – which was given the go-ahead by the UK government in September 2016 – will be obsolete within a decade of being built, UCL Energy Institute and Institute for Sustainable Resources analysis suggests. The findings have significant implications for UK energy policy, the environment and the taxpayer.
The research, based on the National Grid’s energy scenarios, indicates that, by 2030, wind and solar energy sources will be meeting all the UK’s electricity needs on a more regular and extended basis. These findings indicate that the plant could only operate at ‘baseload’ – the steady minimum level of energy supplied to the market – which will likely force cheaper, cleaner and renewable sources off the system.
Hinkley is not expected to be operational until well into the 2020s, when the plant is likely to be competing with environmentally friendly, and often much cheaper, energy sources. This effectively ties the British consumer and taxpayer to an obsolete and irrelevant source of energy.
The research was led by the Energy Institute and Institute for Sustainable Resources. Andrew Smith, Principal Research Associate at the Energy Institute and Deputy Director and Academic Head of the RCUK Centre for Energy Epidemiology, says: “Large plants like Hinkley Point were conceived during a radically different era. By 2030, we predict they could be obsolete in favour of renewable sources like wind and solar.
“Just seven years after Hinkley is scheduled to begin operating, our analysis suggests renewable sources will be able to meet the nation’s minimum energy demand levels – traditionally the role of large nuclear, gas and coal plants like Hinkley Point.”
Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy, Institute for Sustainable Resources, says: “The wider question is whether this decision indicates a politically-driven need to secure investment into the UK after Brexit, whatever the cost to UK consumers, with little regard for expert advice about our evolving energy needs.”
Contact Andrew Smith: andrew.smith@ucl.ac.uk
Infographic
Download 'Critical Mass', our Annual Review data breakdown