Under the deal, the French state company, EDF will build the major plant with £6bn investment from China, without any changes to the original price tag, reports the Guardian.
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However, the government said it would now “impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain’s critical infrastructure”. The Paris government holds a major share in French energy giant EDF, which is in overall charge of the project.
The project is the United Kingdom’s first new nuclear power plant in decades.
Financiers for the project include China and France – France’s EDF is funding two-thirds of the project, while China will front the remaining £6bn.
The Government says Hinkley will provide 7% of Britain’s electricity needs for 60 years and create 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships.
Critics say the arrangement could give China the power to plunge Britain into darkness, and the new British government of Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review of the project in July.
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.
Ministers have chose to back the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station but will impose a new legal framework covering future foreign investment in Britain’s critical infrastructure.
Horizon Nuclear Power, who are developing plans for their own nuclear plant on Anglesey, albeit with different technology, have warmly welcomed the announcement.
Greg Clark, UK secretary of state for energy, noted that Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy and remains committed to the development of nuclear power to ensure future low-carbon energy security. 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.
Business groups broadly welcomed the announcement as an encouraging sign that major United Kingdom infrastructure projects were going ahead, but some also raised concerns about the cost of the Hinkley development.
The UK government approved the project initiated by Electricite de France (EDF) to build two nuclear reactors in the south-western region of the kingdom, writes Bloomberg.
EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said the decision “marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe”.
Hinkley Point C will be a critical part of that, and will inaugurate a new era of United Kingdom nuclear power – building on Britain’s strong nuclear legacy.
The French and Chinese governments both hailed the project’s approval.
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. But Clark’s ministry said the government was now taking steps to ensure it could intervene to stop any sale of EDF’s stake.
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Assuming construction of Hinkley Point C now goes ahead, it should be operational in about 10 years (so, about 30 years after the last reactor went critical at Sizewell B).
