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Energy White Paper

My Lords, the Government have carried out extensive modelling on this issue and some of the costs were outlined in the energy review last year. One of the reasons we are putting forward the nuclear consultation at this point is that the cost picture has changed compared to the position in 2003 when the previous energy White Paper was published. It was the Government’s assessment in 2003 that nuclear was not viable. Since then, bearing in mind the increase in oil and gas prices and the likelihood that they will remain relatively high for the medium to long term, that cost picture has changed. The Government’s assessment now is that, given the energy mix and the likely change in prices in the future, nuclear will be competitive compared to other forms of energy generation. We believe—and some energy suppliers say this themselves—that that can be done without subsidy. However, we need to create the right framework in the development of nuclear if we go down that path. We have overhauled the planning system and we are looking at the strategic assessment processes mentioned in the chapter. We also want to ensure that there is a real and robust price for the cost of carbon because that will be a key to the development of low-carbon energy in the future.