UK's nuclear future at risk

THE development of nuclear power in the UK faces an uncertain future because the lack of a clear pricing system is spooking investors, a UK parliamentary report claims. The report by the UK's Energy and Climate Change Select Committee (ECCSC), Building New Nuclear: The Challenges Ahead, says it is extremely worrying that the UK government "does not appear to have any contingency plans in place" if new nuclear capacity is not built as planned.  The UK government wants to bring 16 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear power capacity online by 2025 to help reduce the country's carbon emissions and offset its looming electricity supply crunch. Around 20% of the UK's existing electricity generation capacity will be shut down over the next 10 years as ageing coal and nuclear power plants close. The UK also needs around €100 billion ($160 billion) of investment in new electricity generation and transmission by 2020, double the rate...