The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May approved the controversial 24 billion (18.17 billion pounds) project on Thursday, after putting it on hold in July.
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For Hinkley Point C, which will be partly owned by China (it’s paying £6 billion of the proposed £18 billion construction cost), the United Kingdom government is preventing EDF from selling its controlling stake without “prior notification and agreement of ministers”.
In a statement, May’s government said it had chose to proceed with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England after a comprehensive review, but made clear Britain would have greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in “critical infrastructure”.
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”.
“What we have decided is that for critical infrastructure generally we want to make sure our powers in this country are comparable to those of others, to be able to check that national security considerations are taken into account”.
This will allow the UK Government to introduce a consistent approach to considering the national security implications of all significant investments in critical infrastructure, including nuclear energy, in the future.
Clark said the Hinkley Point project would “inaugurate a new era of United Kingdom nuclear power” and help cut greenhouse gas emissions, which must fall by 80 percent on 1990 levels by 2050.
The Hinkley project is expected to create more than 25,000 jobs.
Greg Clark, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, said the plant was an “important upgrade” to Britain’s energy infrastructure and a “major step forward for our nuclear power programme”.
A statement from China’s CGN, which has a 33.5% stake in Hinkley, said: “We are now able to move forward and deliver much needed nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point, Sizewell and Bradwell with our strategic partners, EDF, and provide the United Kingdom with safe, reliable and sustainable low-carbon energy”.
The company is hoping to win contracts to build two other, new nuclear power stations in Britain. According to the Financial Times (paywall), both EDF and the Chinese state-owned China General Nuclear, which also has a third and will build the reactor itself, have both welcomed the new version of the agreement.
The project, being built by French state-controlled utility company EDF, includes an US$8 billion investment from Chinese state-backed firm China General Nuclear Power Corporation. To make the project viable, the United Kingdom pledged to pay EDF 92.50 pounds for every megawatt-hour of electricity it produces for 35 years, more than twice the current market price.
Levy said United Kingdom suppliers to Hinkley Point now have slightly larger share of construction work than previously after British steel supplier won tender.
Seven of the eight now operational nuclear power plants, which turned on in the ’70s and ’80s, are scheduled to be retired between 2023 and 2030.
The Guardian reported that May had concerns about China’s involvement in critical infrastructure and whether the project was cost effective.
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‘Giving the thumbs up to Hinkley is vital to fill the growing hole in the UK’s energy supply needs, ‘ he said.
