Helm Talks - energy climate infrastructure & more
Sep 30, 2026 · 16 min · 7 segments
Britain faces a crisis of delivery. From nuclear power stations to airport runways and water infrastructure, costs have spiralled and timelines have stretched into decades. How has a major modern…
Dieter HelmHost
So to give some perspective, it costs about 16 billion pounds to build one gigawatt of nuclear power in this country.
You could build at least 16 or maybe 32 gigawatts of gas for the same kind of price.
It costs about 45 billion and rising, just as an estimate for what it would take to build another runway at Heathrow Airport.
And at a slightly lower level, it costs a quarter of a billion to replace a bridge on a road coming into Oxford, a Botley Road fiasco.
And not only do these things cost so much, it takes more than a decade to build a nuclear power station.
Goodness knows when whatever's left of HS2 will be finished, anyone's guess of the final date.
And to replace a bridge in Oxford takes three years and that quarter of a billion to have cost.
So to give some perspective, it costs about 16 billion pounds to build one gigawatt of nuclear power in this country.
You could build at least 16 or maybe 32 gigawatts of gas for the same kind of price.
It costs about 45 billion and rising, just as an estimate for what it would take to build another runway at Heathrow Airport.
And at a slightly lower level, it costs a quarter of a billion to replace a bridge on a road coming into Oxford, a Botley Road fiasco.
And not only do these things cost so much, it takes more than a decade to build a nuclear power station.
Goodness knows when whatever's left of HS2 will be finished, anyone's guess of the final date.
And to replace a bridge in Oxford takes three years and that quarter of a billion to have cost.
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