Green MP Caroline Lucas wrote to The Guardian today to express her concerns with the deal signed between the UK government and EDF.
Under the terms of the agreement EDF will receive £89.50 to £92.50/MWh, a figure the industry body the Solar Trade Association claims makes it more expensive than PV.
Lucas points out that while the figure covers some of the clean up costs, more transparency is needed on precisely what commitments EDF has made.
Here is the unabridged version of Lucas’ letter:
“By guaranteeing EDF and its partners a strike price almost twice the current wholesale cost of electricity – for 35 years – the coalition is locking Britain into a costly nuclear future, when it should be investing seriously in energy efficiency and renewables.
“Following months of negotiations behind closed doors, we are now presented with a deal which represents terrible value for money for billpayers, who are essentially funding a lavish subsidy for the nuclear industry. Given that EDF is only expected to meet a “share” of the costs of dealing with the toxic waste its reactors would create – and there is a cap on the amount it would have to pay – it’s clear that the public will also pick up the bill for clean-up costs in future.
“Earlier in the year, I joined with other MPs in writing to the National Audit Office calling for a review of the negotiations between the Government and EDF. Now that the details of the agreement are finally out in the open, I have written to them requesting that they investigate.
“You rightly point to the irony of this deal being signed off by a Liberal Democrat energy secretary. Given that the Lib Dems now also support fracking, one wonders how long he will be able to claim to belong to “the greenest party that has ever served in Government.”
