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UK PM firm on only revealing fate of nuclear project later this month

16th September 2016

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The future of Britain’s first major nuclear power plant (NPP) project in two decades, Hinkley Point C, remains uncertain. In July, the new British Prime Minister, Theresa May, took everyone by surprise when she announced a delay in the approval of the project. Hinkley Point C is to be a European Pressurised Water Reactor built by French State-owned utility EDF but one-third-funded by the State-owned China General Nuclear Group. As part of that deal, the Chinese would then receive permission to build an NPP of their own design in the UK, at Bradwell.

It has been widely speculated that May’s decision, announced just hours after the EDF board gave its final go-ahead for Hinkley Point C, was driven by security fears about such extensive Chinese involvement in Britain’s energy infrastructure. It has also been speculated that the £18-billion price tag for the project is the reason for the delay. Or that both factors are at work. The Chinese ambassador in London has publicly expressed concern about the delay. The French government was reported to have been alarmed at the delay, fearing that it would lead to the cancellation of the project.

It was widely expected that May would come under pressure over Hinkley Point C when she attended the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China (which took place from September 4 to September 5). However, in their bilateral meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his understanding for May to take time to review decisions made by her predecessor’s administration. At a press conference afterwards, the Prime Minister said: “I have been clear that a decision [on Hinkley Point C] will be taken later this month, but our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley. “If you look at the investment that has been from China in various parts of the UK and other infrastructure in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China”.

The Bloomberg News Agency has calculated that, for the £18-billion that would result in 3 200 MW of nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point C, the UK could get nearly 6 000 MW of offshore wind power capacity, or about 15 000 MW of onshore wind capacity, or some 22 000 MW of solar capacity or about 25 000 MW of gas capacity. (Although it should be noted that onshore wind and large-scale solar projects are politically impossible in Britain,owing to the large land areas that they would cover.)

British opinion polls show solid support for nuclear power as an electricity generation technology, generally with a significant margin between those for and those against nuclear generation (although there are always large numbers of undecideds in these polls). For example, a 2015 poll reported 56% supported continued British use of nuclear energy, with 19% opposed and 25% uncertain. However, support for nuclear technology has not translated into automatic support for Hinkley Point C, owing to concerns about the cost. A late 2015 poll showed that only 29% supported Hinkley Point C, while 34% opposed it.

Cancelling Hinkley Point C would have major international political and perhaps economic repercussions, but would not end Britain’s new nuclear power programme. Hinkley Point C is merely the first project to reach the point at which construction could start. There are other projects, by other companies, using different reactor designs, currently under development. In addition, the British government plans to launch a competition to select a small modular reactor (SMR) that would best suit the UK’s energy needs. In July, a Parliamentary committee proposed that the winning SMR design be built on a nuclear brownfield site at Trawsfynydd, in Wales.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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