The UK Government has hailed a “major step forward” in its energy plans as it confirmed it had given the go-ahead to the Hinkley Point Nuclear Plant.
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The company touted itself as a European leader in low-carbon efforts and now establishes itself firmly in the British power sector.
China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN), which is leading a Chinese consortium’s participation in the project, said it welcomed the British decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.
Lead investor French state-owned EDF, with a 66.5% stake in the project, said an exchange of letters between EDF and the government would confirm EDF’s commitment to retain ownership control of the project, meeting the UK’s new security concerns.
CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with the Bradwell project and another minority investment in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England.
Plans for Hinkley C were put on hold in July after the new United Kingdom prime minister, Theresa May, said she needed time to assess concerns over its high cost, unproven technology and the role of foreign investors.
Levy said EDF was not looking for other investors at present. It has promised a change in its approach to “the ownership and control of critical infrastructure”, to ensure that the implications of foreign ownership are fully scrutinised.
Another criticism levelled at the deal was that the price of electricity was nearly double the wholesale price.
The British government approves a £2 billion guarantee for the project.
Inquired by Xinhua about how the changes will affect China’s investment in the Hinkley point, a spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Business Strategy said that there would be none.
With May’s go ahead of the project means Hinkley will be the first new nuclear reactor built in Britain in two decades.
In the UK, EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz said EDF’s UK unit would take “the risk and responsibility to deliver Hinkley Point C and provide the UK with the reliable low carbon electricity it needs”.
There are also doubts over whether the reactors can be built in the allotted timeframe, and as to whether they can bridge the UK’s looming energy supply gap.
Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a “special share” in all future nuclear new construction projects to ensure that significant stakes can not be sold without its consent.
Horizon, the company behind the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Anglesey, North Wales, said: “New nuclear is vital for the UK’s future electricity mix and so today’s announcement on Hinkley Point C is good news for the country’s security of supply and clean energy needs”.
A senior Whitehall source said Prime Minister Theresa May had accepted there was “no Plan B” for keeping Britain’s civil nuclear sector alive if the controversial project was scrapped.
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GE had already been doing early engineering work on the project to build one of the largest nuclear plants in the world.
