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The Chinese National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is still planning to buy a stake in the Hinkley Point C according to one of its senior officials.
China General Nuclear (CGN) signed an agreement with EDF in October to take a 33.5 per cent share of the £18 billion nuclear project. CNNC did not agree to buy a stake, despite being involved in the preceding discussions.
However, senior official at the company Xie Jiajie told the Telegraph it still plans to do so once a final investment decision has been made: “We decided it would not be good for two large Chinese companies to hold strategic discussions with EDF. That is why we asked CGN to hold discussions on behalf of CNNC.
“The final proposal is for the Chinese to take a 33.5pc stake in the project. But this will be a combination of CGN and CNNC. We haven’t yet decided what percentage we are going to invest. The FID [final investment decision] has not been announced. We have to wait to see the final agreements.”
EDF bosses have been called to appear before the Energy and Climate Change Committee later this month after the French economy minister Emmanuel Macron indicated a final investment decision will probably not be made until September – the latest in a long list of delays.
EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz had said the decision was likely to take place mid-May at a previous meeting of the committee.
Meanwhile, a report by the UN Economic and Social Council has said the UK failed to properly consult neighbouring countries about the potential environmental impact of Hinkley in the event of a major accident or disaster.
According to a draft version of the document Britain is “in non-compliance with its obligations” under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. The Council has been looking into the project since 2013 when a member of the German parliament made allegations of non-compliance.
The UK government previously claimed it does not need to notify neighbours because the chance of any impact is so low. The report has argued that, while the likelihood of a major accident is “very low”, the likelihood of a cross border impact in the case of such an event “can be very high”.
A spokeswoman for Decc responded: “Compliance with international obligations is something we take very seriously. We are confident that we have met the relevant international requirements in relation to Hinkley Point C.
The Irish equivalent of the National Trust – An Taisce – lost a legal challenge against Hinkley in the High Court in 2014, after it argued the consent granted was invalid as the Irish government had not been properly consulted.
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