Solar could provide as much power as Hinkley Point C for half the subsidy cost

Critics speak out against government support for Hinkley Point

The official state visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping this week looks set to include an announcement on Chinese backing for a new power station at Hinkley Point, however analysis undertaken by the Solar Trade Association (STA) has revealed that solar PV could provide the same amount of electricity for half the subsidy cost. 

The STA analysis shows that a combination of solar, storage and other flexibility mechanisms would cost consumers roughly 50% less than Hinkley Point C over the 35 year lifetime of the Hinkley subsidy.

The analysis comes as the government is consulting on a number of proposals to drastically cut support to solar PV within both the Feed-in Tariff and the Renewables Obligation, both of which have been justified on the basis of costs and affordability.

Mike Landy, head of policy at the STA, said: “We are not saying that solar is the solution to all our energy problems, nor that it could completely replace other technologies. However, the government needs to explain why it is drastically cutting support for solar energy whilst offering double the subsidy to Hinkley Point C. 

"It also needs to explain why it is championing overseas state-backed utilities over British solar companies which given stable support would have considerable growth prospects.”

Investment banking firm Liberum Capital released an outspoken statement openly criticising Hinkley Point C, thought to be the most expensive power station anywhere in the world to date. 

Author Peter Atherton from Liberum Capital said: “Once again, the UK government is taking a massive bet that fossil fuel prices will be extremely high in the future. If that bet proves to be wrong then this contract will look economically insane when Hinkley Point C commissions. 

"We are frankly staggered that the UK government thinks it is appropriate to take such a bet and under-write the economics of any power station that costs £5m per MW and takes nine years to build.”

Earlier this week Good Energy also published a report showing that solar generation is helping to reduce wholesale electricity costs, thereby offsetting much of solar’s support costs. 

The document published by the STA contains interim results of ongoing analysis that it intends to continue and refine further. The STA hopes to add wind into the model as the generation profiles of wind and solar across the year balance each other particularly well. The full report can be found here.