§ Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what calculation has been made of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the nuclear energy industry; and what estimate has been made of the annual cost to the nuclear industry of meeting the climate change levy. [40703]
§ Mr. WilsonAs with any large project, the process of constructing a nuclear power station will lead to carbon dioxide emissions but these will be negligible in relation to the lifetime generation capacity of the plant. Generation of nuclear electricity does not produce any significant carbon dioxide emissions. It is estimated that in 2001 in the absence of nuclear generation, emissions of carbon dioxide would have been between 11 and 22 MtC higher, depending on the mix of generation used to replace it.
The climate change levy (CCL) falls on supplies of electricity to business users rather than on electricity generators. The amount attributable to nuclear generation will depend on the extent to which consumers of nuclear electricity are domestic consumers or are businesses which are eligible for reductions in the rate of levy. For each terawatt hour of electricity supplied to business customers the CCL at the full rate would amount to £4.3 million.