Engineering news
Construction of Britain’s first new nuclear power in a generation will begin within weeks after China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) agreed a deal with EDF to construct a plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
The companies have signed a Strategic Investment Agreement which will see EDF take a 66.5% stake in Hinkley and CGN a 33.5% stake. EDF intends to bring other investors into the project without reducing this initial stake below 50%.
EDF said the final cost would be £18 billion – £2 billion more than previously mentioned.
The signing of the Strategic Investment Agreement coincides with the contracts between the UK Government and EDF for the Hinkley Point C project being in final agreed form.
Energy secretary Amber Rudd said: “We are tackling a legacy of under-investment and building energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century as part of our plan to provide the clean, affordable and secure energy that hardworking families and businesses across the country can rely on now and in the future.
“The UK is open for business and this is a good deal for everyone – Hinkley Point C will continue to meet our robust safety regulations and will power nearly six million households with low-carbon energy, creating over 25,000 jobs and more financial security for working people and their families."
EDF and CGN have also agreed the Heads of Terms of a wider UK partnership for the joint development of new nuclear power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex.
Meanwhile, EDF's construction of a French nuclear reactor of the same type being planned at Hinkley Point is set to be delayed by a further three years, according to French media reports.
Construction of the Flamanville reactor began in 2007 and has been plagued by delays and budget overruns ever since. It was expected to cost €3.3 billion and start commercial operations in 2012. It will not now start operation, at the earliest, before the end of 2018 and will cost at least €10.5 billion.
EDF's plans to build a similar reactor in Finland have also encountered the same problems. The Okiluoto reactor 3 was supposed to start in 2009 and cost €3 billion. It might come online in 2018 and the company no longer quotes a cost
Greenpeace UK chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said: "News of further delays at Flamanville is yet another red light flashing on the Hinkley control panel, but our government is determined to ignore them all to save face.
"Wherever the French giant has tried to build this type of the reactor, there have been endless delays, ballooning costs, and major technical setbacks. Instead of forcing UK consumers to pay billions for outdated, subsidy-guzzling nuclear power, the government should invest in the clean energy sources that are cheaper than nuclear and on the verge of going subsidy free."