Minister's pledge: We're committed to new nuclear build
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A leading minister has said the government is committed to building a new wave of nuclear power stations despite recent blows to the programme.
Lord Sassoon, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, who spent the bulk of his career with the accountant KPMG and the investment bank SG Warburg, told The Independent the private sector "wants reassurances of the direction of travel from the Government" on nuclear.
He said the Government would create a "settled energy market" that would encourage investment on nuclear power station development. Critics have questioned whether the plans, which would cost tens of billions of pounds, are economically viable after German utilities Eon and RWE said earlier this year that they were pulling out of UK nuclear new build.
The three consortiums that have put forward proposals for the developments are waiting for the Electricity Market Reform Bill, expected by the end of the year. This will set what is known as a "strike price", a guaranteed minimum amount for generators of low-carbon nuclear electricity that would cover the vast investments they are proposing.
This is considered the biggest overhaul of the electricity market since privatisation in the early 1990s, but has been criticised for being vague on detail so far. Many of the parties involved in the consortiums are concerned that the minimum price might not be enough to make the investment worthwhile.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments