New nuclear would be too late and too costly

‘Sizewell C new nuclear station would be almost entirely cut off by climate-driven storm-surge floodwater at least once a year by the time its built.’ Photograph: EDF

The new nuclear renaissance on which you report ((Tide is turning in Europe and beyond in favour of nuclear power, 1 June) may well turn out to be like the last frail one due to a set of inconvenient truths.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that renewables are now 10 times more efficient than new nuclear at CO2 mitigation; 92.5% of all new power capacity added worldwide in 2024 was from renewables, with new nuclear virtually nowhere; new nuclear builds are vastly over-cost and over-time; large reactors on offer are the same ones offered 25 years ago – no new designs have been developed this century; since all small modular reactors are in the design stage, industry forecasts must be treated with scepticism; and waste, proliferation and siting problems are all deeply unresolved.