Press release
Lib Dem conference: Members vote against nuclear subsidies
20 September 2011
Friends of the Earth has welcomed a Lib Dem conference motion, passed in Birmingham today (Tuesday 20 September), which calls on the party to introduce a windfall tax on the operators of existing nuclear power plants to prevent them receiving millions of pounds of extra profit when a carbon floor price is introduced in April next year.
Friends of the Earth Energy Campaigner Paul Steedman said:
"Lib Dem members are right to call for a windfall tax on existing nuclear power plants - it's scandalous that they should earn millions of pounds for doing nothing when the Government introduces its carbon floor price next year.
"Chris Huhne must stop the nuclear industry from benefitting from this hidden subsidy - and spend the money raised helping householders save energy and slash rising fuel bills."
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. The flawed EU Emissions Trading Scheme is supposed to put a price on carbon emissions from major polluters, encouraging investment in cleaner energy and technology. However, the scheme has been undermined in recent years because the price of carbon has fallen so low. The UK Government has attempted to address this with a 'Carbon Floor Price', which places an additional carbon tax on the coal and gas used in power stations.
But this will have other consequences too. Nearly half of the electricity we use is generated from gas, and it's largely the cost of gas-fired power that sets the wholesale price of electricity. This means that as the Carbon Floor Price increases the cost of running gas-fired energy plants, so does the wholesale price of electricity. If you own a nuclear power station this means you receive this higher price, but unlike the gas-fired station, you don't have to pay any extra costs to generate it.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2011
