Dong Energy says wind power could remove need for Hinkley Point C
Henrik Poulsen, CEO of Dong Energy, the largest offshore windfarm developer in the UK, has said that wind turbines, combined with energy biomass or gas-fired plants, could make the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear project unnecessary.  Poulsen added that low prices in the renewable energy sector made the industry particularly attractive. Britain currently has an offshore wind capacity of over 5 GW, plus 9 GW off onshore wind. The Hinkley plant would provide 3.2 GW. The cost of wind power is already less than £85 per MWH, with analysts anticipating this could fall to £68 by the mid-2020s.

The biggest offshore windfarm developer in Britain has said the country can meet its future energy commitments without the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear project.

Henrik Poulsen, chief executive of Dong Energy, said wind turbines could be built on time and on budget, giving the UK a reliable source of power if combined with output from new biomass or gas-fired plants.

Poulsen said it was up to the government to decide whether Hinkley Pointfinally went ahead but he believed renewable energy was a good bet, due to low prices in the industry.

“Could you build a national energy policy without nuclear? Yes you could … and if you needed to fill a (energy capacity) gap offshore, wind could be accelerated to fill such a gap,” he said.

Poulsen said the Brexit vote had not caused him to rethink Dong’s €6bn (£5.1bn) investment programme in the UK, which involves constructing three more windfarms on top of the eight already operating.

“We hope offshore wind will remain a key component in the future energy system and are optimistic about prospects under the new government,” he added.

Among the windfarms under development is Hornsea Project One, which will see 170 turbines erected in a 400 square mile area of the North Sea, off the coast of Yorkshire. This will be the world’s biggest offshore farm and will produce 1.2GW of power – enough for 800,000 homes – when it opens in 2020. There is already talk of a second and third phase being built which could double overall capacity to 2.4GW.

Britain has a total of more than 5GW of offshore wind capacity plus almost 9GW of onshore wind but new projects are coming on stream all the time. The new proposed Hinkley reactors would provide 3.2GW.

The nuclear scheme was given a formal green light by developer EDF last week but was unexpectedly subject to a new review by Theresa May and her ministers, much to the surprise and frustration of the French energy company.

A raft of other proposed nuclear projects by companies such as Hitachi of Japan are also in the pipeline although industry experts have questioned whether confidence in them would evaporate if Hinkley was finally halted by the government.

The UK is in desperate need of new electricity generating plants as old nuclear and coal-fired power stations coming to the end of their lives are retired. The gap between power supply and demand during peak periods has fallen to close to zero.

Nuclear supporters argue that only atomic plants can provide power 24 hours a day, seven days a week unlike wind or solar that are intermittent providers dependent on weather conditions.

The government has agreed a strike price – a guaranteed price for the electricity generated by Hinkley Point – of £92.50 per megawatt hour over 35 years. This is more than twice the cost of existing wholesale electricity prices but cheaper than offshore wind.

Poulsen said offshore wind farms could already produce power at below €100 (£85) per MWh. Many others in the industry believe it will be down to €80 by the mid-2020s.