Greenpeace report launched in wake of £2bn guarantee for Hinkley Point C

A report commissioned by Greenpeace has concluded that it is possible for the UK to produce 85% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. The report comes as the government has announced a £2bn government guarantee for the Hinkley Point C Nuclear power plant project in Somerset.

George Osborne announced the guarantee, which will be provided by government body Infrastructure UK, in Beijing on the second day of his five-day tour of China. The deal will pave the way for a final investment decision by energy company EDF, supported by China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation, later this year.

Osborne said: “Nuclear power is cost competitive with other low carbon technology and is a crucial part of our energy mix, along with new sources of power such as shale gas. So I am delighted to announce this guarantee for Hinkley Point today and to be in China to discuss their investments in Britain’s nuclear industry.

“It is another move forward for the golden relationship between Britain and China – the world’s oldest civil nuclear power and the world’s fastest growing civil nuclear power,” he added.

The government has announced a £2bn government guarantee for the Hinkley Point C

Amber Rudd, energy secretary, added: “New nuclear power is a vital part of our long-term plan to provide secure, clean energy supplies that hardworking families and businesses can rely on in the decades ahead.”

The guarantee will be seen as good news for the Balfour Beatty, Mace, Turner & Townsend and Faithful & Gould that are all in line to win work on  the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK for 20 years.

Osborne explained the need for Chinese investment in the UK’s nuclear programme and suggested there would be more to come. Osborne was quoted in The Guardian as saying: “Instead of me committing tens of billions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money to these nuclear power stations – which is money I would otherwise be able to spend on the health service or the education system or indeed give lower taxes to people – instead of that we have created a model where we can attract Chinese investment into civil nuclear power.”

He continued by saying Chinese involvement in Hinkley Point “opens the door for majority Chinese ownership of a subsequently nuclear project in Bradwell”.

However, a report by Greenpeace, which is a “direct response to the increasingly urgent need for industrialised countries to rapidly decrease their carbon emissions to prevent a worsening climate crisis”, states that the UK can produce 85% of its power from renewables by 2030.

The report outlines a strategy for the UK to drastically reduce its carbon emissions without having to build new nuclear power stations.

Greenpeace believe that this can be achieved through electrification of demand traditionally delivered through other means; and decarbonisation of the power sector that provides electrical supply to meet such demand.

For 85% of energy to be generated from renewable sources the report believes there needs to be a rise in wind energy from 13GW to 77GW and solar rising from 5GW to 28GW, accompanied by a 60% reduction in demand for domestic heating through a home insulation programme.

Speaking to Construction Manager, Dr Neil Cutland, scientist and director of environmental consultant said, “Hard on the heels of the story that a Chinese company is likely to invest in French-owned nuclear reactors in Somerset and Sussex, this report makes for interesting reading.

“It is perfectly feasible for the UK to become self-sufficient in renewable energy if, as Greenpeace suggest, we achieve a 60% reduction in domestic heating demand. This will require really strong policy-making from government, so it’s vital that the recently-launched Bonfield review of energy efficiency in the UK makes some clear demands on Government and not just industry.”