WWF charity officials are concerned that national energy bills will rise thanks to Government proposals to provide £3.43bn for nuclear generators between 2013 and 2026. The plan to not introduce a carbon floor price makes a mockery of the current Coalition’s alleged opposition to any form of public subsidy for nuclear. WWF UK are now urging the government to introduce a windfall tax that could be used to support energy efficiency.
Head of Energy Policy at WWF-UK, Nick Molho, said –
At a time of fiscal austerity and rising energy bills, it seems crazy to be introducing a policy that gives huge windfall profits to the existing nuclear generators – especially when this sector has been bailed out by the taxpayer on several occasions in the past. The Government should find ways to prevent these windfall profits, and use the revenue to help householders reduce their energy needs.
By providing funds for emerging renewable technologies through the Green Investment Bank, a windfall tax is the perfect solution to help consumers reduce their overall energy consumption. The carbon floor price will operate as a tax on coal and gas power companies, who are dominant in the power generation provided to the UK. As nuclear power stations do not burn fossil fuels, under the current regime they will not have to account for the carbon floor tax, but will in turn benefit from higher electricity prices, increasing their profits.
Chief Scientific Adviser and Policy Director for Greenpeace UK, Dr Douglas Parr, said –
This is yet another taxpayer handout to a failing nuclear industry. The economics of nuclear power have never added up and it has been continually propped up with money from hard-working families. The continued kowtowing of the Government to the nuclear industry beggars belief. Government policy should be backing the building of globally competitive industries based on clean, cutting-edge forms of energy and green growth, not an outdated industry that has never been able to stand on its own two feet.
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