Business secretary Greg Clark said in a speech on the future of the energy market that “if nuclear is sufficiently competitive, then it is worth, in my view, turning that option into a commitment.”
He said there has been “some criticism” of the prospective cost of the Hinkley Point C nuclear station project, but in its efforts to bring down costs the government is looking into financing options for new-build.
Mr Clark’s speech is the clearest indication yet that the government is open to RAB, essentially a type of contract drawn up with the backing of government which calculates the costs and profits of a project before it is started, and allocates an investor’s profits from day one.
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