It said cancelling the project would not stop Britain from keeping the lights on or meeting its climate change targets.
If the £18 billion nuclear plant in Somerset goes ahead it will have a capacity of 3.2GW and should generate 25.2TWh of electricity each year.
ECIU said a similar output could be provided by as few as four large windfarms or just three new interconnectors. The same peak capacity could be provided by between six and 10 new gas-fired plants at a cost of just £1.6 billion. Improvements in energy efficiency could also “negate the need for at least two-fifths of Hinkley’s electricity”.
The thinktank insisted the plant could be completely replaced using a mix of windfarms, interconnectors, gas-fired plants, energy efficiency measures and demand-side response. This would “save the UK around £1 billion per year while keeping the lights on and meeting climate targets”.
ECIU described its analysis as “ultra conservative”: “We consider only mature technologies, leaving aside those that are just entering the market or those yet to be commercialised… As such, Hinkley is likely to be easier and cheaper to replace than our analysis concludes.”
Its director Richard Black said: “Our conclusion is that is not essential; using tried and tested technologies, with nothing unproven or futuristic, Britain can meet all its targets and do so at a lower cost.
“So if Mrs May decides to go ahead with Hinkley, all well and good – if she decides not to, or if the project stumbles at a later stage, we have alternatives.”
The plant was finally given the go-ahead by EDF at the end of July following years of delays. Within hours the UK government announced it would hold off on its final decision until the autumn whilst it undertook a review of the project.
Commenting on the ECIU’s findings, North Star Solar chief executive Paul Massara said: “Whatever your view of nuclear power, what’s so striking is just how expensive, unwieldy and complex Hinkley C is. That the UK is even considering investing so much money in an unproven design based on outmoded technology is staggering enough.
“But when energy markets are so clearly heading in an entirely different direction, it looks like madness to push ahead with Hinkley. Listen to any informed energy market insider, and they will tell you that future grids will be smart, decentralized, flexible, and dominated by a mix of renewable energy, demand-side and energy efficiency measures, and storage.”