The Economics of Nuclear Power aka as Reds under the Bed

setmefree2

I'm not happy about The Chinese running a British Nuclear power plant and it would seem security officials aren't either.

Chancellor George Osborne’s plans to allow China to help design and build two nuclear power plants in the UK have been described as “astounding” by critics, who warn it poses a threat to national security.
Osborne hopes to finalize the multibillion-pound deals next week during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Britain. If agreed, Chinese state-owned companies could design and build a reactor using their own technology at Bradwell on the Essex coast.
Security sources have expressed alarm at giving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) such intimate access to Britain’s energy infrastructure, warning the UK could be rushing into an agreement with Beijing without considering the threats.
“There is a big division between the money men and the security side,” a security source told the Times.
“The Treasury is in the lead and it isn’t listening to anyone — they see China as an opportunity, but we see the threat.”

But leading academics have expressed concerns about allowing China to gain such familiarity with Britain’s national infrastructure, describing the notion as “astounding.”
“No one else in Europe would cut this deal. America wouldn’t dream of letting China have such a part in its critical national infrastructure,” said government advisor Paul Dorfman of University College London’s Energy Institute.
“The idea the UK is prepared to do so is, frankly, astounding,” he added.
Bristol University’s International Development professor Jeffrey Henderson expressed similar alarm.
“There is no other major developed economy on the planet where I can imagine this being allowed to happen,” he said.

What do you think?

cells

I don't see it any more of a risk than the Chinese buying one of the existing reactors

I think its fine so long as they build it unsubsidised so a strike price of circa 5p a unit

PasturesNew

It seems absurd that British designers and engineers aren't doing it! It's not as if it's an alien concept to this country, why bring in people from other countries when that money's going abroad when people here need proper jobs?

I just wonder if they add in the cost of unemployed Brits to their calculations of "cheapest" at all......

cells

PasturesNew wrote: »

It seems absurd that British designers and engineers aren't doing it! It's not as if it's an alien concept to this country, why bring in people from other countries when that money's going abroad when people here need proper jobs?

I just wonder if they add in the cost of unemployed Brits to their calculations of "cheapest" at all......

the majority of a nuke cost is the building work for the actual buildings all of which will be done here by uk contractors

some parts will be assembled all over the world but again put together here by a uk workforce

The reason why it isnt all done in house is because the UK doesn't want or need the number of reactors that would be needed to get the per unit cost down.

Only china (and to a lessor extent S.Korea) is building reactors at the moment and have a proven track record of building them on time and to a good budget.


I welcome the chinese building nukes so long as its not over 6p strike.

cells

PasturesNew wrote: »

It seems absurd that British designers and engineers aren't doing it! It's not as if it's an alien concept to this country, why bring in people from other countries when that money's going abroad when people here need proper jobs?

I just wonder if they add in the cost of unemployed Brits to their calculations of "cheapest" at all......

also why should it apply only to nukes

PV modules are mostly built in china and then make PV farms here

Wind mills are built all over and put together here

CCGTs pretty much the same


Even other forms of manufacturing. Cars built here have components from all over the world.

Andy_L

PasturesNew wrote: »

It seems absurd that British designers and engineers aren't doing it! It's not as if it's an alien concept to this country, why bring in people from other countries when that money's going abroad when people here need proper jobs?

We haven't built a new plant for so long that the people with any experience have retired/died/gone overseas/forgotten how they did it

Mistermeaner

Good friend to have and they have an excellent recent record in building the things. Crack on

stator

The Chinese already provide all of our telecoms infrastructure equipment, including the high security stuff. We also pay a Chinese company to 'check' the telecoms equipment to make sure it is safe and secure and doesn't have any backdoors in it.

padington

I'm tempted to wonder if the yanks gave it the all clear just to see how much the Chinese know.

Osbourne is an all American fan boy. It just doesn't ring true that he would fail to heed the American advice on something so important if their wasn't more to this than meets the eye.

Generali

I'm with cells on this one: if the Chinese aren't going to build it, who is?

wotsthat

If there's a risk here then I'd be questioning the regulations. If the nationality of the owners increases risk of bad things happening then how are these risks mitigated with current owners? Or do we just assume foreigners are not to be trusted?

As for the claim Chinese ownership would give them too much familiarity with our utility system - people saying this probably haven't heard of the internet yet. All they'll learn is the best time to cause chaos is to cut the power during the Strictly final.