EU investigation calls Hinkley nuclear deal into question
Commenting on the European commission's investigation into UK plans to subsidise the construction and operation of a new nuclear reactor at the Hinkley nuclear plant, Greenpeace UK chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said:
“The Commission’s investigation into the new Hinkley reactor is likely to turn food into ashes in Cameron and Hollande’s mouths at their pub lunch today. The EU executive has blown a hole in their multi-billion-pound nuclear stitch-up by showing it’s a rubbish deal for consumers, will damage the prospects for clean energy technology, and will leave the UK taxpayers to shoulder the burden of risk. By questioning whether the huge subsidies promised to EDF are justified, the commission is casting a shadow over the whole project.
“The commission also warns nuclear energy is far from being ‘clean’ because of the enormous risks involved in storing huge amount of radioactive waste for very long periods of time. This is a problem Cameron promised needed to be solved before new nuclear plants could be built, but he now seems to have forgotten this pledge. The Sellafield site is a testament to what happens when politicians want to forge ahead before knowing what to do with the nuclear waste.
“The investigation shows that whatever Cameron and Hollande may want, the Hinkley deal is bad for energy bills, bad for the environment, and bad for genuinely clean energy. What’s worse, the agreement stacks the deck against UK taxpayers leaving French-owned EDF very little risk and all the big profits.”
Source: Greenpeace
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