New nuclear power plants will reduce Britain’s “exposure to volatile gas prices,” the MPs hear

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New nuclear power plants could reduce “Britain’s exposure to volatile global gas prices”, MPs have heard.

But Secretary of Commerce Greg Hands was also warned of the “toxic legacy” that building new nuclear power plants in Britain would have for “future generations” when he promoted the Nuclear Financing Act.

The proposed law aims to allow pension funds and other institutional investors to provide cash for nuclear power plants through a regulated asset-base financing model (Rab).

Consumers would also pay the cost of new nuclear power plants during construction through their bills, a process that is intended to give private investors more security about their projects.

Economics Minister Greg Hands (Stefan Rousseau / PA) / PA archive

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This follows on from uncertainties in current funding models that have delayed projects such as Sizewell C in Suffolk and Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey.

Mr Hands told the Commons, “Atom is part of a low-cost future electricity system. Nuclear energy helps reduce our exposure to volatile global gas prices. The measures in this draft law mean that we can keep nuclear energy mixed up at a lower cost than usual. “

Mr Hands said the funding model would add less than £ 1 a month to a household’s average energy bill during construction while reducing reliance on overseas developers for funding.

He told the Commons that a project starting construction in 2023 “would add a very small amount to the average dual-fuel household bill during this Parliament, averaging less than £ 1 a month throughout the construction phase Project “.

He said, “This new funding model will reduce our reliance on foreign developers to fund new nuclear projects. It will significantly expand the pool of potential private investors to include UK pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors. “

It showed me the utterly poisonous legacy we will leave for future generations when we generate nuclear waste

The minister added that other options, including proven renewable energies and experimental new energy generation methods, may not reach the extent necessary “to provide the majority of our electricity when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing”.

Liberal Democrat economics spokeswoman Sarah Olney called on the government to reflect on the “significant disadvantages of nuclear waste.”

Talking about a visit to the former Sellafield nuclear power station last year, she said: “I found it so enlightening about the consequences of dealing with nuclear waste.

“What is still the considerable time and effort and money now being spent on disposing of nuclear waste that arose in the 1970s before I was born?

“That was just extraordinary for me and really showed me the absolutely poisonous legacy, literally poisonous legacy that we will leave behind for future generations when we generate nuclear waste.”

Ms. Olney said the Liberal Democrats’ position was that new nuclear power plants should not be built as the UK decarbonised its energy supplies and turned to renewable energies instead.

The SNP also raised concerns about the construction of new nuclear power plants in the UK.

The bill was welcomed by Black Economy Secretary Alan Whitehead, who said Labor supported the government’s efforts.

But Mr Whitehead warned, “There are examples of nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world that have been funded along the lines of Rab that just won’t finish, leaving consumers with a huge bill and no benefit.”

When it announced its financing plans for new nuclear power plants in October, the government said the regulated asset-based financing model “has successfully financed other infrastructure projects such as the Thames Tideway Tunnel and Heathrow Terminal 5”.

The bill was passed in second reading by 319 votes to 44 and 275 votes in favor and will be examined further at a later date.