Benefits for end-users
A nuclear power plant built using the SaHo Model provides benefits for energy consumers that other nuclear business models do not, that is:
- the cheapest possible energy available around the clock, thanks to low-cost financing, no profit margins and no intermediaries costs;
- certainty and stability of energy prices in a 100-year horizon;
- ownership of the energy source (indirect in case of small end-users);
- no intermediaries in the form of energy trading companies, which increases energy independence,
- the ability to buy or sell shares of SaHo NPP at any moment*;
- safe investment of capital and protection against inflation for final investor – the value of the shares will rise as the energy prices for end-users rise;
- the possibility of building energy communities by, for example, contributing shares of the SaHo NPP to an energy cooperative.
*trading in shares is subject to oversight in accordance with applicable law
Benefits for financial investors
The category of financial investors in the SaHo Model is broad. In this context it should be understood as lenders (e.g. banks), investment funds and smaller stock market investors, i.e. those entities that will not be so-called final investors. Building a nuclear power plant in the SaHo Model means the following benefits for them:
- Lenders:
- low overall project risk due to the specificity of the primary investor;
- guarantee of repayment of liabilities by the nuclear company due to the nature of the investment and its target owners (confirmed by 50 years of experience);
- Investment funds and stock market investors:
- possibility to trade NPP shares during construction – possibility of earning a high rate of return;
- period of investment tailored to the investor’s needs (also short-term investments);
- For the technology provider (vendor) as an investor:
- the ability to build more nuclear units using very limited financial resources (Reuse of Funds mechanism);
- promotion of own reactor technology without the need for a long-term financial commitment.
Benefits for the government
Building a nuclear power plant in the SaHo Model, whether by a public or private investor, means the following benefits for the government:
- Construction of a large number of nuclear units in a short period of time, and thus:
- provision of sufficient and stable generation capacity in the electricity system,
- effective and efficient implementation of climate policy (not achievable with other models),
- Increasing the competitiveness of the economy and reducing energy poverty by providing businesses and households with the cheapest possible energy,
- Additionally, in case of NPP construction by a state (government) investor:
- implementation of a large nuclear programme using expenditures for only 1-2 nuclear units, not achievable under other models – savings for the state budget,
- realisation of additional state budget revenues from the sale of SaHo NPP shares, which can be used for any purpose (not necessarily the construction of further nuclear units),
- The possibility of retaining control over the nuclear company through existing legal instruments, regardless of the ownership structure.
Benefits for climate
From a climate viewpoint, the most important benefit of building nuclear power plants in the SaHo Model is the possibility of fast decarbonization of a large part of the economy. This is not possible with NPPs built in other models or using only non-nuclear energy sources such as RES and energy storage. The Reuse of Funds mechanism built into the Model allows an almost unlimited number of nuclear units to be built at low cost in a relatively short period of time. At the same time, it guarantees that the energy produced will be the cheapest possible for end users. This is very important because the end-users have the greatest impact on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Zero-emission, cheap, stable, available around the clock regardless of the weather electricity makes it possible not only to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector, but also in the heating sector (through nuclear cogeneration, also possible in the SaHo Model), industry (electrification of industrial processes, e.g. in metallurgy) and transport (economically viable replacement of combustion vehicles with electric ones).
Effective implementation of the 2050 climate policy will not be possible without fast and massive construction of large amounts of zero-carbon and stable generation capacity, and the provision of the cheapest possible energy to end-users (preferably to decrease energy prices from the current high level, which the SaHo Model makes possible). This should be done without hidden charges and levies from which other energy sources with apparently low production costs are subsidised.