Prime Minister Theresa May’s government said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project, approving French utility firm EDF’s (EDF.PA) plan to build Britain’s first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by $8 billion (£6 billion) of Chinese cash.
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Hinkley Point would produce around seven per cent of the UK’s energy while Sizewell and Bradwell would provide a further 12 per cent between them, potentially giving the Chinese involvement in almost one-fifth of the country’s electricity generation.
THE CONTROVERSIAL Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will go ahead following a “new agreement” with EDF, the Government has confirmed.
“Of course, the British leader’s misgivings make little sense”, the Xinhua commentary said, speculating that May was pandering to domestic critics.
“Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project’s smooth development”. The opposition Labour Party supports the project in principle but says its guarantee to pay a minimum of roughly double the current market price for electricity for 35 years is a rip-off.
That may ensure that there’s never a rerun of the Hinkley Point debacle.
The Government said existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, would mean it was able to intervene in the sale of EDF’s stake once Hinkley is operational.
Although the statement made no reference to China, it nearly certainly had the Beijing leadership in mind when it noted that the changes would ensure that “significant stakes can not be sold without the government’s knowledge or consent”.
“We are very happy the British government has approved the project”, CGN said in a statement.
It said the same amount of power could be generated far more cheaply using renewable sources such as wind and solar power and by developing technologies to store energy more effectively.
“There will be reforms to the government’s approach to the ownership and control of critical infrastructure to ensure that the full implications of foreign ownership are scrutinized for the purposes of national security”.
Environmental group Greenpeace has also attacked the decision.
Upon becoming Prime Minister, Mrs May delayed her approval amid fears of the security implications of China acquiring a foothold in the United Kingdom power supplies. It did not specify what sort of projects would be included.
Matt Burley, NSW chairman, said: “This decision now clears the way for a huge multi-year nuclear reactor build programme and up to 60 years of large scale electrical power production which will advance our fight against climate change and will affect every one of the 210,000 business in the South West, either directly or indirectly”.
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State-owned CGN said it was now “able to move forward and deliver” nuclear capacity at other United Kingdom sites, including Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.
