| With an impending shortage of electricity generating capacity in the UK, carbon costs being incorporated into electricity generating costs and fossil fuel prices at all time highs, the conditions could not be more favourable for nuclear power. Yet, as the British Government states repeatedly, no-one is seeking permission to build a new nuclear power station. There is a multitude of reasons for this paradox; some are exclusively nuclear in nature, such as the need for licensing approval and the treatment of backend costs. Others are more universal in that they apply to any form of new, large-scale, generating capacity in the UK, such as the difficulty of financing, and the availability of a suitably qualified management team. This paper examines just one of these barriers in detail. It arrives at the conclusion that, if nuclear power is to be regarded as a potential generation option in the UK, the rules governing the British power market need to be altered, so that long-term contracts, related to long run co ts, become available. Indeed, the market as it stands, seems to be incapable of encouraging the development of any form of non-renewable generation. The changes identified would facilitate the development of any form of large-scale generation, be it nuclear or advanced coal and gas with carbon sequestration, thereby allowing |
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