The project is the United Kingdom’s first new nuclear power plant in decades.
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A new agreement means that the government will be able to block the sale of EDF’s controlling stake in Hinkley.
Critics have focused on an electricity price guarantee to be paid to EDF of £92.5 for every megawatt hour of power produced by Hinkley for the next 35 years, rising with inflation, despite falling energy prices. After the station is operational, the United Kingdom government will also retain the ability to intervene if EDF tries to sell its stake. State-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation will have a 33.5% stake in the power plant, while France’s EDF (ECIFY) will own the rest.
Government says UK-based businesses will benefit from more than 60% of the £18 billion value of the project, and 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships will be created.
Jean-Bernard Lévy, group chief executive of EDF, said, “The decision of the British government to approve the construction of Hinkley Point C marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe”.
Beyond the foreign investment concerns, some consumer advocacy and environmental groups objected to Hinkley C due to concerns of the high costs to be borne by ratepayers and the safety and environmental impacts of nuclear power.
The future of the project in southwest England had been put into question after the new government of Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly announced in July that it was delaying a final decision on the plant until the fall to study all the components of the deal.
Ministers ended uncertainty over Hinkley by saying it had reached a “new agreement” with French energy giant EDF, imposing “significant new safeguards” for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure.
According to ex-business minister Vince Cable, Mrs May had concerns over the “gung-ho” attitude that her predecessor, Mr David Cameron, took towards courting Chinese investment.
May’s greatest concern was reportedly the Bradwell nuclear plant project, which was approved alongside Hinkley Point under the previous administration.
However, China General Nuclear said it believed it would be able to proceed with involvement in Sizewell and Bradwell as well.
In a statement, Ms May’s government said it had made a decision to proceed with the project in central England after a comprehensive review, but was clear Britain would have greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in “critical infrastructure”.
Shares in EDF slipped 1.5% lower on the announcement.
“This will ensure that significant stakes can not be sold without the Government’s knowledge or consent”, the BBC reported.
They are also hoping to win contracts to build new nuclear power stations in Essex and Suffolk. New nuclear energy will play an important role in supporting a diverse, low-carbon and secure energy supply, so it’s now time to push on with this key project.
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Former Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith said: “At the end of its life this new power plant will have generated the most expensive energy in the history of energy generation”.
