The British government on Thursday gave the go ahead for a new 18 billion pound ($23 billion) nuclear power station in the United Kingdom after imposing “significant new safeguards” for future projects.
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In a statement, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark said the proposal for Hinkley Point C had been “thoroughly reviewed”.
The statement said the government would be able to stop the sale of EDF’s controlling stake before completion, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers.
Hinkley Point C is to be built by French state-owned company EDF and is meant to provide about seven percent of United Kingdom power after its completion, scheduled for 2025.
New conditions on the controversial agreement with the state-owned firms building the plant – France’s EDF and China’s China General Nuclear Power (CGN) – mean the United Kingdom government will be able to prevent the sale of EDF’s controlling stake prior to the completion of construction. Downing Street’s statement promised “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”.
He added: “Once the deal has been signed comes the truly hard part of actually building the plant”.
A future source for United Kingdom energy became a little clearer today as the government said yes to the controversial US$18bn new nuclear reactor at Hinkley in Somerset. “And in future all nuclear power plants will be subject to the same regime”.
Industry groups have welcomed the go-ahead for Hinkley Point, saying thousands of new jobs will now be created, giving a huge boost to the nuclear sector.
With some restrictions, the British government said Thursday it was moving ahead with plans for the first nuclear power station in a generation.
May’s own chief of staff, Nick Timothy, wrote past year that “the Chinese could use their role to build weaknesses into computer systems which will allow them to shut down Britain’s energy production at will”.
Nuclear power, combined with a stable and well-supported renewables sector where solar, wind and wave power deliver sustainable energy, can play a role in low carbon electricity supply.
“It demonstrates the UK’s desire to lead the fight against climate change through the development of low carbon electricity”.
EDF and CGN have agreed to build two French-designed reactors at Hinkley Point and would seek approvals from United Kingdom regulators for the Chinese Hualong reactor to be built at Bradwell, southeastern England.
“CGN and EDF have worked together in close cooperation for decades and this has laid a solid foundation for these three new nuclear projects”. EDF will assume most of the up-front costs for the reactor, which are estimated to amount to 18 billion pounds (21 billion euros, $24 billion).
May’s greatest concern was reportedly the Bradwell nuclear plant project, which was approved alongside Hinkley Point under the previous administration.
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Another issue is that in 2013, the Government agreed it would buy power from the plant for £92.50 per megawatt hour, rising in line with inflation, for 35 years once the plant is operational.
