Caution urged over new nuclear build

New nuclear build may not be appropriate and should be approached with caution, according to MPs on the Trade and Industry Committee.

The committee’s report, “New Nuclear? Examining the Issues”, published today, highlights a number of issues that the government must address before proceeding with any new nuclear build.

The report claims that fears of an ‘energy gap’ may have been overstated, and argues that market forces must ultimately decide whether or not new nuclear stations will provide an adequate return for investors.

Committee members say that the government should make it clear that all costs of building, operating and decommissioning new nuclear power stations will fall on the private sector companies that construct them.

With high capital costs and long lead times, the report concludes that “stable long-term carbon pricing is the only means by which new nuclear build could be funded and the only way the government can achieve its objectives of reducing carbon emissions and allowing the market to determine the precise energy mix”.

The committee recommends, however, that the government should not give preferential treatment to nuclear power “either in the planning system or in the long-term carbon pricing mechanism”, given the general public’s concerns about nuclear technology.

The committee believes the public will not support new nuclear build unless it can be shown to be part of a wider strategy to encourage renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Despite the “woeful” record of successive governments to date, a clear strategy for long-term disposal of radioactive waste is also urgently needed.

The report concludes that both national and cross-party consensus would be needed before any new build could progress.