Tuesday 19 June 2012

Flogging a dead horse

Charles Hendry, the UK Government’s Energy Minister displayed rather more confidence in the prospects for Wylfa B than any publicly available facts can justify during his visit to Ynys Môn yesterday.  The statement from the opposition group, PAWB, that the project is ‘dead in the water’ looks like an understatement, if anything, to me – it never got as far as the water before dying.
The companies behind the project have abandoned it and put the consortium up for sale, and a number of other countries are busily abandoning their nuclear energy programmes, yet the UK government seems determined to continue to swim against the tide.
It’s possible, of course, that Hendry already knows something we don’t.  Perhaps there is another company, or companies, which really are ready to take over the scheme and build a new station.  Two things seem clear however if that is the case.
The first is that the only companies likely to be interested are those owned by the Russian or Chinese states, and the second is that “The Government’s plans to reform the electricity market and how far these offer subsidies to the nuclear industry” will be a key consideration.  Whether they’re actually called subsidies and how open and transparent they are is open to doubt – but new nuclear power stations will not be built in the UK without a massive financial commitment from the state.
If, on the other hand, he has no insider knowledge on which to base his optimism for the project, then he is simply misleading those to whom he is speaking.  Worse than that however is that for as long as politicians like Hendry continue with their unwavering commitment to nuclear energy, the greener alternatives do not receive the same level of backing.

9 comments:

maen_tramgwydd said...

Carwyn Jones would welcome the trident submarines to Wales, in the event of Scottish independence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-18509639

Welsh not British said...

Of course Carwyn would welcome them to Wales, it means he doesn't have to do any work yet gets to take all the credit.

maen_tramgwydd said...

Previous Labour-led Welsh governments have had a nuclear free Wales policy.

Rhodri's former 'clear red water' is likely to get even more tainted with plutonium and caesium.

Wales will become the nuclear 'sink' of the UK.

If Wales' share of the cost of the renewal project was spent on infrastructure it would create many thousands more jobs than the handful of spin-off jobs what would come to west Wales.

As ever, Labour proves over and over that it never acts in the interests of the people of Wales, and never will.

G Horton-Jones said...

John
Not sure how we got onto Trident on this one.
Milford Haven cannot cope with Oil tankers Lng Tankers Irish ferries Cruise liners Marina traffic and general recreational craft plus nuclear subs and associted support vessels. Something has to give
Go tell Titanic there are icebergs ahead

G Horton-Jones said...

John
BBC Wales tonight announced that the new Pembrokeshire power station When it is fully onstream in September will produce enough electricity for 3 million people.

I guess thats all of us here in Wales sorted

Unknown said...

I think it said 3 million homes. There are 1 million homes in Wales.

|Of course, I Carwyn is successful in his bid to attract the Scottish WMDs here, it will have to close, as will all other refineries and energy resources on the haven.

John Dixon said...

Siônnyn,

"Of course ... it will have to close, as will all other refineries and energy resources on the haven."

Why? Whilst not supporting Carwyn Jones' little plan, I don't see how this follows from it.

Unknown said...

Well, isn't that what the report in the 1960s said? Along with the WMDs come many other high explosives, and dangerous practices.

John Dixon said...

I don't think it actually said that it couldn't be done, merely that it wasn't the best thing to do.