{"id":3207,"date":"2015-03-06T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=3207"},"modified":"2015-03-06T15:05:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T15:05:00","slug":"nuclear-build-delays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=3207","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear build delays?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The construction of Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first nuclear power plant in a generation may see delays as it faces continued legal challenges from European critics, including the Austrian government and a co-operative of energy suppliers in Germany.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe construction of the Hinkley Point C plant \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which will be a boon for the local and wider economy, while powering seven per cent of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s electricity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c was granted final permission by the European Commission (EC) in October of last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe EC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s approval, however, followed a lengthy inquiry into state aid, which involves the UK government guaranteeing a minimum price for the electricity bought from the new reactor for a period of 35 years.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut critics contend that this guarantee unfairly distorts the market and disrupts the free flow of capital in the EU.<\/p>\n

 
\nNow, energy and business minister Matthew Hancock revealed yesterday (March 5) that the government is requesting a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgolden share\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, which would give the government special voting rights and a decided control in the plant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe Independent reported<\/a> that the golden share request could lead to even more delays, further fuelling critics\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 legal challenge.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut Unite national officer for energy and utilities Kevin Coyne argues that the golden share request can only be seen as a good thing.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are of the view that all utilities should be publically owned, so anything that moves towards a publically funded system, we would support,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\nBest energy solution<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nEven in the face of legal challenges, Coyne defended the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nuclear investment programme, which he says will provide a reliable and environmentally friendly long-term solution to the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy security.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNuclear is zero-carbon and is a huge generator of electricity for the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe building of Hinkley Point would put on another 20 gigawatts to the supply and it would do it without carbon emissions. Therefore in all ways it is environmentally friendly.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve found that even people from the environmental lobbies are coming around to our view that nuclear is probably the best solution,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWind power cannot compete, in the sense that the wind doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blow when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not cold and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t store electricity.<\/p>\n

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Secondly, coal, in its unabated form will be outlawed by 2025. Without the massive investment in carbon capture and storage, coal will go out of production, which means that 25 per cent of our electricity goes out of production overnight.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nCoyne explained, then, that investment in nuclear is integral to a balanced energy policy in the UK.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCoal and nuclear together provide well over half of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s electricity,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd so if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have new power stations, how are you going to replace that? The only other source is gas, but gas is a carbon emission.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nBest agreements ever negotiated<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nHinkley is the site of two other nuclear power stations, with one currently being decommissioned. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this background that Coyne says makes the construction of a new plant in the area vital.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a large workforce that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s based there that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eminently qualified in terms of skills,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe population know how to operate and run power stations. So the new plant would provide continuity in the area for the next 60 years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just in terms of its operation.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe construction of the plant alone, however, will be a wellspring of jobs for the local economy.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe construction of the plant is based upon 5,000 jobs at any one time, with 22,000 over its six-year lifespan,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Coyne said.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe most exciting prospect of Hinkley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s construction and the jobs it will generate is that these jobs have been negotiated by Unite and other unions under what Coyne calls \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsome of the best agreements we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever had.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey provide for a huge quality of pay,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe terms and conditions are good, and trade unions are absolutely central to them. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clause of no blacklisting and specific methods which ensure that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is very important to us. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pension scheme which traditionally you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have in construction.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd those are just snapshots,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much in the agreements that are very impressive.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nThe cost of cleaning up<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nIf the eventual construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant may herald a nuclear renaissance, nuclear clean up and decommissioning of existing sites remains a dilemma.<\/p>\n

 
\nYesterday (March 5), the National Audit Office noted<\/a> in a report that the estimated cost of decommissioning and cleaning up Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most hazardous and complex nuclear plant, Sellafield, will rise by \u00c2\u01415bn in a year \u00e2\u20ac\u201c bringing the total cost to \u00c2\u014153bn.<\/p>\n

 
\nAlthough Coyne asserts that nuclear clean-up is an inherently expensive endeavour, exorbitant costs can also be attributed to private outsourcing.<\/p>\n

 
\nAt Sellafield, a private consortium contracted for 17 years to undertake the clean-up and decommissioning process was sacked earlier this year after reckless mismanagement. Parts of the project will now be essentially renationalised.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe consortium contracted for the project employed all sorts of mechanisms which ended up being prohibitively costly,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained.<\/p>\n

 
\nCoyne pointed to Cavendish Fluor, an American-based company contracted to decontaminate 12 other nuclear sites, as another prime example. Last month, just six months after winning the contract, it has now requested millions of dollars in additional taxpayer money. <\/a><\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur biggest concern about all these private companies is that when they first estimate costs, they often discover something or the other at a later stage that they hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t accounted for \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and so they subsequently charge more,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith a public contract, on the other hand, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re paying the workers, as it were, and you do whatever there is to do,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Coyne added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much more cost-effective.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nIndeed, as the Sellafield contract is cancelled not long after the Circle<\/a> and Atos<\/a> contract disasters in two completely separate arenas of public provision, a clear pattern emerges. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s health, welfare or nuclear clean-up, privatisation simply doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pay.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The construction of Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first nuclear power plant in a generation may see delays as it faces continued legal challenges from European critics, including the Austrian government and a co-operative of energy suppliers in Germany.   The construction of the Hinkley Point C plant \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which will be a boon for the local and wider […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[127],"wps_subtitle":"Hinkley Point plant build faces legal challenge ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3208,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207\/revisions\/3208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}