Remember this:
Charles Hendry saying “The coalition agreement clearly sees a role for new nuclear, provided that there is no public subsidy.”
I remember it well.
I thought about it last April when this headline broke::
Fro the Guardian, “Ministers planning ‘hidden subsidies’ for nuclear power.”
In case there was any confusion, Fiona Hall the Lib Dem leader in the European Parliament, clarified:
“Such a public subsidy to help build new nuclear power stations in the UK would go completely against the Coalition Government Agreement.”
Well, guess what. Now we have this:
The Guardian reports, “Energy secretary Ed Davey grants EDF permission to build and run two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset.”
Do I feel let down? Yeah, I do.
Update:
Caroline Lucas hits the nail on the head when she says:
“Despite the energy department’s attempts to rewrite the dictionary on the definition of a subsidy, it’s now blindingly obvious that billions of pounds of public money will be thrown at new nuclear in the form of a strike price and the underwriting of costs including accident liability and construction – in direct breach of the Coalition agreement”
Hynd's Blog 