After the costs for the construction of the new nuclear power plant almost doubled from 21 billion to around 38 billion, it is now becoming clear that the power plant will also produce very expensive electricity: The International Economic Forum for Renewable Energy estimates the cost of the electricity generated at well over 15 cents per kilowatt hour.
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Hinkley Point C will therefore push up electricity prices in the UK for decades. This is because the guaranteed warranty is linked to the British inflation rate.
Investors pull out of the project
"The exit of investors speaks for itself. And in France, too, households have been confronted with cost increases due to the ailing power plant fleet because the French state can no longer bear the exploding additional costs," says Simone Peter, President of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE). The disposal costs have not even been taken into account.
Renewables and nuclear energy do not go together
By way of comparison: wind and solar energy, on the other hand, largely produce for well under ten cents per kilowatt hour. In Germany in the days leading up to Christmas, due to the strong winds and low demand for electricity due to the public holidays, this is actually close to and below zero cents per kilowatt hour.
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These time windows will increase in the future. "The nuclear phase-out in Germany was also the right decision for financial reasons," Peter concludes. Now it is a matter of aligning the entire electricity system in Europe with the needs of renewable energies. Peter: "Subsidising nuclear power no longer fits in here." (nhp/mfo)
