The European Commission has approved the building of the first nuclear power station in Britain for decades. Hinckley Point in Somerset will now be the home to a vast new power station that will produce 7 percent of energy for the UK national grid and cost up to £16bn.
The Hinckley Point C station will be built by EDF Energy, the French national energy provider that has become a major player in the British market. It made the commitment to build Hinckley Point some time ago, but the construction needed to be approved by the European Commission because it involved government subsidies.
In a statement the European Commission said they had demanded major changes to achieve “significant savings for UK taxpayers”. This is because the UK government had to guarantee a minimum price for the power generated, to enable EDF to raise the capital to build Hinckley. The funding model can now be used for other new nuclear power stations.
David Morris MP, Chairman of Conservative Friends of Nuclear Energy, welcomed the decision. He told Breitbart London: “This is great news for Britain because it clears the way for even more Nuclear in places like Anglesea and Heysham.
“We’re far too reliant on inefficient technologies like wind farms, and from imported oil and gas from unstable parts of the world. Nuclear is safe, reliable, cheap and brings with it the sort of energy security that only comes from local production.
Local MEP Ashley Fox said: “If we are serious about meeting our energy demands with a low carbon, affordable and reliable energy source then the decision to build more nuclear power stations is obvious.
“I hope that we can all support this exciting project and work together to ensure that the development in Somerset provides the right investment to support the large work force that is needed.”
Hinckley Point will employ 25,000 construction workers, and then 900 scientists when it is complete. It joins two existing power stations at the site.
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