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The UK's new nuclear programme is taking so long to complete that it is in danger of becoming a "museum" piece by the time it is due to come on line in 2020, according to a leading Labour MP.
Speaking to Utility Week, Alan Whitehead, a member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC), said a lot of the generation issues will have been solved by the time Hinkley Point C starts generating and the UK “will have in theory a lot of wind, demand-side reduction, storage backup and interconnectors”.
“Even if it does start to happen, it’s going to take such a long time that the lights will have either gone out or we will have substantially resolved our supply problems anyway,” he added.
He said EDF Energy’s planned new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C may not be on line until 2024 and light-heartedly added: “We’ll set it up as a nuclear heritage museum and that will be the end of it.”
However, energy secretary Ed Davey told the ECCC: “I think we’re still hopeful we’ll see nuclear generating in 2020/21.”
The Nuclear Industry Association said the UK’s 16GW new nuclear programme was essential to keep the lights on. A spokeswoman said: “It’s very important we at least replace the current nuclear capacity which goes offline over the next five to ten years, apart from Sizewell.”
EDF Energy said: “Hinkley Point C will meet 7 per cent of Britain’s power needs.”
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