Thursday 13 October 2016
Hinkley signals ‘start of nuclear renaissance’
Energy Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe believes the approval of Hinkley Point C signals "the start of a nuclear renaissance".
Speaking at an event this week, she said the decision is a vital demonstration to the rest of the world that the UK is open for business in the aftermath of Brexit.
She told the audience the delayed and over-budget project remains a good deal for taxpayers and consumers and stressed the importance of the site in providing a secure baseload in case of intermittent renewable generation.
She said: "There are other advantages to the deal. EDF expects around 64% of the value of construction to be spent in the UK and Hinkley will deliver 26,000 high quality jobs and apprenticeships for people in Somerset and across the UK.
"Going forward, for future projects, we should continue to secure value for money – thereby limiting the impact on bills for UK domestic and industrial users, for example steel; and be similarly ambitious about the opportunities for UK companies in future nuclear projects."
Baroness Neville-Rolfe added BEIS would be making it clear to providers that the substantial involvement of UK industry is expected so the department would help the industry to get into a position to respond to developers’ needs.
Former head of Energy UK Angela Knight recently told ELN Hinkley is the way forward for the country.
Issues such as Hinkley Point C, the effects of Brexit and the future role of nuclear power will be discussed at the Energy Live 2016 conference along with a wide range of other energy topics. Limited free tickets are available for energy end users.
