Professor John Robertson OBA
Thanks to Frances McKie for alerting me to this.
From Bloomberg UK, two days ago, the above.
Readers may remember repeated comments from Labour’s Anas Sarwar, UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband and Junior Energy Minister, Michael Shanks that on day one of a Labour administration in Edinburgh (;-)), they will begin planning to return nuclear energy to Scotland. Polls suggest that the media coverage in Scotland has persuaded a small majority that we need this so getting the evidence out there is hugely important.
The above news from Bloomberg comes on top of endless publications telling us that nuclear energy in Scotland is madness.
The health risks have been presented many times here but I’m going to concentrate on the economic considerations here. For more on the health risks, see:
So, in Scotland, taking into account the costs of waste disposal and site clear up after shut down, how does nuclear power compare with wind power in terms of the cost per unit of electricity generated?
From a Grok AI question, the following is very clear with the evidence strongly in favour of wind power.
Remember, if anything, we might expect Grok’s software to favour the nuclear energy industry given its ownership – Elon Musk – and it’s location – Trump’s pro-nuclear USA.
In summary, wind power is significantly cheaper (£38/MWh vs. £109/MWh) even after full end-of-life accounting, driven by lower capex, rapid deployment, and minimal waste burdens. Nuclear’s high reliability comes at a premium, with Scotland’s policy favoring wind expansion.
There’s a link to the full report with sources at the bottom but here are the figures underpinning the above conclusion:
Wind is ~2.9x cheaper per MWh when including all costs. Offshore wind (relevant for Scotland’s coast) is £44/MWh—still ~2.5x cheaper.
Sources:
DESNZ 2023 Electricity Generation Costs Report:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6556027d046ed400148b99fe/electricity-generation-costs-2023.pdf
Lazard 2024 LCOE Report : https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-and-solar-power-half-the-cost-of-coal-and-gas-one-third-the-cost-of-nuclear-says-lazard/
Full AI-generated report: https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1987451804318044273
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Hinkley Point years late and over budget. Another Tory waste of time. Where to put the waste. Westminster decommissioning nuclear cost £13Billion a year.
Nuclear plants in France and Finland years late and over budget.
Scotland the best place for renewables in the world.
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