Conditional green light for Hinkley

The government has given the green light for Hinkley Point C to be built but with some new conditions attached.

The agreement means the government will be able to prevent EDF from selling a controlling stake in the nuclear plant in Somerset, without the prior approval of ministers. It will take a “special share” in all future nuclear project to make sure they cannot be sold without its consent.

“Ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain’s critical infrastructure, which will include nuclear energy and apply after Hinkley,” it said in a statement.

“The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will be directed to require notice from developers or operators of nuclear sites of any change of ownership or part-ownership”, it added. “This will allow the government to advise or direct the ONR to take action to protect national security as a result of a change in ownership.”

The government said the changes would bring Britain “into line with other major economies” and allow it to implement a “consistent approach to considering the national security implications of all significant investments in critical infrastructure, including nuclear energy, in the future.” It said Britain would nevertheless remain “one of the most open economies in the world”.

The decision comes following a review into the deal which was launched at the end of July, just hours after EDF made its final investment decision.

Business and energy secretary Greg Clark said: “Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government’s agreement. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

“Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy, and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security.”

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) took on a 33.5 per cent stake in the £18 billion plant in Somerset in October last year, and is also expected to expected to buy into the other nuclear plant EDF has plans for at Sizewell in Suffolk.

However, the ultimate prize for the company is a new nuclear plant at Bradwell in Essex, built using its own reactor technology. The hope is that getting the seal of approval from the UK, via the well-regarded Generic Design Assessment process, will enable it to export its technology around the world.

Hinkley is now the best part of decade behind schedule, after chief executive of EDF Vincent de Rivaz once promised Brits would be “cooking their Turkeys” with power from the plant by Christmas next year. It is now not expected to be built until at the very earliest 2025, and probably not until 2026.

Once up and running the 3.2GW plant will provide enough electricity for around 7 per cent of the UK’s needed. The government said it would be “critical” to providing a secure low-carbon energy supply particularly when Britain’s eight existing nuclear plants are due to close by 2030.

The project has been widely criticised for its strike price under the Contracts for Difference scheme, which critics say is too generous, especially given the rapidly falling costs of renewables and storage. There have also been widespread concerns over the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) technology which is currently still not operational anywhere in the world.

The four reactors which are being built in France, Finland and China have been plagued by cost overruns and delays. France’s nuclear safety authority ASN is currently conducting a test programme on the reactor at Flamanville in Normandy after it uncovered “manufacturing anomalies” in the reactor vessel.