29 Jun (NucNet): Nuclear energy still has a key role in keeping Britain’s lights on and reducing carbon emissions, the new UK energy minister has said.
The nuclear industry was unnerved by the absence of any commitment to nuclear power in the Conservative party manifesto before this month’s general election.
But Richard Harrington, a Conservative Party MP who moved from his previous job as pensions minister after the election, said nuclear power still had “a big part to play” in maintaining UK energy security and meeting climate goals.
His comments at a nuclear industry conference in London came days after the National Audit Office criticised the government for a “risky and expensive” deal with EDF of France to build Britain’s first new reactors since the 1990s at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.
EDF confirmed this week that it was conducting a review of Hinkley’s cost and timetable after a report in French newspaper Le Monde claimed that the £18bn (about €20bn, $23bn) budget was set to rise by €1bn-3bn and the expected completion date to slip by two years to 2027.
