Nuclear progress as Hinkley Point C gains planning consent

Two new reactors will be built by EDF Energy, which the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) believes will support between 20,000 and 25,000 jobs during construction and 900 permanent jobs during operation.

Today’s decision follows the granting of a Nuclear Site Licence and the approval of the power station’s design by the UK nuclear safety authority and the award last week of key environmental permits by the Environment Agency.

Welcoming the decision, Nuclear Industry Association chief executive Keith Parker said, ‘This shovel ready project is on the brink of kick starting the nuclear renaissance in earnest.

‘Once operational, Hinkley Point C will generate enough reliable and low carbon electricity to power five million homes for 60 years.’

‘The whole of the UK will benefit from the creation of thousands of new jobs, as well as a strong industrial skills base and supply chain that will put the UK at the forefront of the global nuclear renaissance.’

In a statement EDF Energy said the granting of planning consent must be matched by the finalisation of a contract for the electricity produced at the new plant, a view echoed by Dr Tim Fox, head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Dr Fox said, ‘The…important, and still uncertain step, will be for the government to agree a ‘strike price’ – or a guaranteed future electricity price – for the power generated by the Hinkley Point C plant.

‘It will need to be sufficiently attractive to investors from at home and outside of the UK for the plant to go ahead. Also, crucially, this price needs to be acceptable to the public when considered alongside strike prices agreed for electricity from renewables and other low carbon sources of power.

‘We are transforming the energy system for the 21^st century and effectively at a start-up for new nuclear, so getting this balance right for the first plant is key to helping ensure future success with follow on projects.

‘Hopefully a deal will be reached between the government and EDF soon so that we will be able to make a start on the big engineering challenges ahead.’

The secretary of state’s decision follows a three year consultation by EDF Energy with local communities, involving 100 public meetings and 33,000 comments, in addition to a six month examination by the Independent Planning Inspectorate.

Hinkley Point C will be the first new nuclear station to be built since Sizewell B in 1995, and the first to have a Funded Decommissioning Programme, requiring the operator of a new nuclear plant to meet the full costs of decommissioning and its share of waste disposal.