white exec wrote: ↑03 Dec 2017, 18:36 Sorry, Michel, but facts do tend to get in the way of glib opinion.
Thanks, Simon, for patiently detailing that so thoroughly.
Made a mistake in my post - apparently Hinkley point C is scheduled to start producing some power as early as 2023 but won't be completed and at full capacity for many years after that. The price is fixed at £92.50/MWh in 2023:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_e ... ource#BEIS
Even in 2015 when this chart was made wind was already undercutting it at an average of £62/MWh, and was beating even natural gas, but I know the figure has gone a long way down from that in the two years since and is still trending sharply downwards. It's quite remarkable when you think about it.
PV solar is also beating nuclear but isn't falling in cost as quickly as wind as PV needs theoretical breakthroughs to achieve greater efficiency (PV is hovering around 25% efficiency) while wind is mainly a mechanical engineering exercise where the cost is coming down from improved design and manufacturing.
Coal is the most expensive of all. Being too expensive has done more to get rid of coal than any emissions regulations!