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In 2023 France had one of the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity in the world at 23g/kWh. This is because most of its electricity comes from nuclear power. It is significant that France which produces 69% of its electricity from nuclear and only 8% from wind has much lower CO2 emissions per kWh of electricity than Denmark (94g/kWh) which produces over 50% of its electricity from wind.
Lifetime subsidies for wind generation have been calculated to amount to £133.4 bn. This could be massively reduced. One notable example is the Drax woodburning power station whose subsidies could rise to £1.7bn per year. To read more go to the relevant factsheet.
Subsidies for carbon capture and storage are calculated to be £45.5bn This is a waste of money. It has been attempted in the USA. The results there show that it has been both a technical and also an economic failure. To read more go to the relevant factsheet.
The subsidies for biofuels (£48.1bn) should be abolished. If it can be shown that biofuels can be produced for a reasonable cost and sold to produce a profit people will invest.
A major reason for the cost of infrastructure is the planning and approval process. Not only is the planning approval process costly in itself but delays whilst legal objections and subsequent appeals take place results in additional interest payments for the cost of capital.
The legal and environmental objections (so called ‘lawfare’) used by activists very often have little hope of success but dealing with them adds enormously to the costs. The UK Government has recently shown a desire to curtail the rights of protesters to embark on a seemingly never- ending series of appeals and judicial reviews.
A separate issue is the cost of obtaining type approval process for nuclear power. According to the World Nuclear Association it can cost between $180m and $240m ( £144m to £192m) to get a design approved. The USA , France, Korea and Japan all have exceptionally high safety standards for nuclear. A nuclear design that has been approved in any of those countries should automatically be approved in the UK. The approval process would then be limited to site approval.
https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/economic-aspects/economics-of-nuclear-power
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