Hinkley Point C nuclear deal officially signed

• 7 years ago (2016-09-30)
• David Flin

Asia 848 Europe 1061 Nuclear 640

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Government ministers and stakeholders from the UK, France, and China have officially signed the £18 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear power station agreement. A contract for difference was signed in London by Greg Clark, Business Secretary of the UK Government, Jean-Bernard Levy, Chairman of EDF, and He Yu, Chairman of CGN.

Clark said: “Signing the contract for difference for Hinkley Point C is a crucial moment in the UK’s first new nuclear power station for a generation, and follows new measures put in place by the Government to strengthen security and ownership. Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy, and we have always been clear that nuclear power stations like Hinkley Point play an important part in ensuring our future low-carbon energy security.”

Hinkley Point C will be the first new nuclear power station built in the UK since Sizewell B (construction started 1988, operational 1995).

The signing allows work to continue on the preliminary groundworks at the site, which had been placed on hold when Theresa May, Prime Minister of the UK, had ordered a review of the project on taking office, bringing work to a temporary halt.

Hinkley Point C is due to start generating power by 2025, and will provide 7 per cent of the UK’s total power output.

CGN said that it had also signed agreements with the UK Government related to new power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex. CGN said the deal would: “Enable preparatory work to begin on Bradwell, allowing CGN to put its HPR1000 technology through the UK’s generic design assessment (GDA) process.”