Hinkley Point C nuclear power station

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC) is a two-unit, 3,200 MWe EPR nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England.

The site was one of eight announced by the British government in 2010, and in November 2012 a nuclear site licence was granted. On 28 July 2016, the EDF board approved the project, and on 15 September 2016 the UK government approved the project with some safeguards for the investment. The project is financed by EDF Energy and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN).

Since construction began in March 2017, the project has been subject to several delays, including some caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has resulted in significant budget overruns. , the project is two years late and the expected cost is £2526billion, 50% more than the original budget from 2016. It is currently planned to be commissioned in June 2027 and has a projected lifetime of 60 years.

History

In January 2008, a UK government white paper announced support for a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built. Hinkley Point C, in conjunction with Sizewell C, was expected to contribute 13% of UK electricity by the early 2020s. Areva, the EPR's designer, initially estimated that electricity could be produced at the competitive price of £24 per MWh.

EDF, which is 85% owned by the French government, purchased British Energy for £12.4billion in a deal that was finalised in February 2009, with the nuclear generation business becoming part of EDF Energy. This deal was part of a joint venture with UK utility Centrica, who acquired a 20% stake in EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd as well as the option to participate in EDF Energy's UK new nuclear build programme.

In September 2008, EDF, the new owners of Hinkley Point B, announced plans to build a third, twin-unit European Pressurised Reactor (as the EPR was then called) reactor at Hinkley Point,
to join Hinkley Point A (Magnox), which is now closed and being decommissioned, and the Hinkley Point B ( AGR), which has a closure date for accounting purposes of 2023.

On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that Hinkley Point– already the site of the disused Hinkley Point A and the then still operational Hinkley Point B power stations– was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations. NNB Generation Company, a subsidiary of EDF, submitted an application for a Development Consent Order to the Infrastructure Planning Commission on 31 October 2011.

In February 2013, Centrica withdrew from the new nuclear construction programme, citing building costs that were higher than it had anticipated and a longer construction timescale caused by modifications added after the Fukushima disaster.

The Development Consent Order was published was published in March 2013. That same month, a group of MPs and academics, concerned that the 'talks lack the necessary democratic accountability, fiscal and regulatory checks and balances', called for the National Audit Office to conduct a detailed review of the negotiations between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and EDF.

In October 2013, the government announced that it had agreed a contract for difference for the electricity production of Hinkley Point C with a strike price of £89.50 per MWh, with the plant expected to be completed in 2023 and remain operational for 60 years.

In December 2013, the European Commission opened an investigation to assess whether the project complies with state aid rules

with reports suggesting the UK government's plan may well constitute illegal state aid. Joaquín Almunia, the EU Competition Commissioner, referred to the plans as "a complex measure of an unprecedented nature and scale" and said that the European Commission is "not under any legal time pressure to complete the investigation". In January 2014, an initial critical decision was published, indicating that the UK government's plan may well constitute illegal state aid, requiring a formal state aid investigation examining the subsidies. David Howarth, a former Liberal Democrat MP, doubted "whether this is a valid contract at all" under EU and English law. Franz Leidenmuhler (University of Linz, a specialist in EU state aid cases and European competition law), wrote that "a rejection is nearly unavoidable. The Statement of the Commission in its first findings of 18 December 2013, is too clear. I do not think that some conditions could change that clear result." Though given that, ten months later the European Commission approved the financing.

In March 2014, the Court of Appeal allowed An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, to challenge the legality of the decision by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to grant development consent. An Taisce lawyers say there was a failure to undertake "transboundary consultation" as required by the European Commission's Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. Lord Justice Sullivan said that though "he did not venture that it had a real prospect of success, it was desirable that the court should give a definitive view as to whether there should be a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union and, if not, on the meaning of the Directive". In July 2014 the Court of Appeal rejected An Taisce's application on the basis 'that severe nuclear accidents were very unlikely... no matter how low the threshold for a "likely" significant effect on the environment... the likelihood of a nuclear accident was so low that it could be ruled out even applying the stricter Waddenzee approach'

The UN, under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, ordered the Department for Communities and Local Government to send a delegation to face the committee in December 2014, on the "profound suspicion" that the UK failed to properly consult neighbouring countries.

In September 2014, news leaked that "discussions with the UK authorities have led to an agreement. On this basis, vice-president Almunia will propose to the college of commissioners to take a positive decision in this case. In principle a decision should be taken within this mandate" with a final decision expected in October 2014.

On 8 October 2014, it was announced that the European Commission had approved the project, with only four commissioners voting against the decision. The European Commission adjusted the "gain-share mechanism" whereby higher profits are shared with UK taxpayers.

In June 2015, the Austrian government filed a legal complaint with the European Commission on the subject of the state subsidies. In September 2020, the court confirmed the aid approved by the commission.

In September 2015, EDF admitted that the project would not be completed by 2023, with an announcement on the final investment decision expected in October 2015. Earlier plans to announce Areva and 'other investors' were dropped: "in order to have speed, in the first phase EDF and the Chinese will be the investors". A report by the IEA and NEA suggests privatization as one of the causes for British nuclear power being more expensive than nuclear power in other countries.

In February 2016, EDF again delayed a final investment decision on the project, disclosing that the financial agreement with CGN was yet to be confirmed. EDF, which had recently reported a 68% fall in net profit, was still looking at how it would finance its share of the project. With EDF's share price having halved over the preceding year, the cost of the Hinkley Point C project now exceeded the entire market capitalisation of EDF. EDF stated that "first concrete", the start of actual construction, was not planned to begin until 2019.

In June 2016, EDF executives and managers told MPs that the Hinkley Point C proposal should be postponed until it had "solved a litany of problems", including EDF's "soaring debts". EDF said it would delay a final investment decision until September 2016.

On 28 July 2016, the EDF board approved the project when 10 out of 17 directors voted yes on the final investment decision. Gérard Magnin, a director of EDF who was opposed to the project, resigned before the vote. On the same day, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark announced that the government would delay its decision until the autumn of 2016 to "consider carefully all the component parts of this project", including Britain's national security.

On 8 August 2016, Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to Britain, wrote that the UK risked major power shortages by 2025, the Hinkley Point C project is ready to go ahead, the 'UK could not have a better partner than the China General Nuclear Power Corporation', and 'the China-UK relationship is at a crucial historical juncture'.

In August 2016, it was reported that 'civil servants are looking to see if there is any loophole, clause or issue in contracts yet to be signed that allow the Government to pull back without huge loss and while also saving face', that Beijing 'will resist any compromise on the deal', and that one option under consideration is to approve Hinkley Point C but delay a decision on the Bradwell reactor. In September 2016, the UK government announced after its review "significant new safeguards".

In February 2017, the UN, under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, 'said the UK should consider refraining from further works' until it has heard back from other countries on whether it would be helpful for them to be formally notified under a treaty on transboundary environmental impacts.

In July 2017, the estimated construction cost had climbed in two years to £19.6billion and was revised to £20.3billion accounting for the fifteen months estimated delay cost, with a start date of between 2025 and 2027.

In January 2021, the estimated construction cost was revised to £2223 billion, with expected start date of June 2026.

In May 2022, another year of delay and further cost rises were announced, bringing the total to an estimated £2526billion. In July 2022, EDF warned there was a possibility of further delay to September 2028.

On 13 September 2022, a construction worker was killed on site, in a traffic incident.

Construction work

Early enabling works started in July 2008, with the construction of a car park for a ground investigation programme.
In 2012, EDF purchased the site of the Manor of Sydenham near Bridgwater which had previously been used as a factory site by British Cellophane, including the Grade II listed 16th century building.

In 2014, 400staff undertook initial preparation and construction work. This work included access roads and roundabouts for increased construction traffic, park and ride schemes for the site workers, and a new roundabout for the village of Cannington. Further plans include the construction of a sea wall and a jetty for ships to deliver sand, aggregate and cement for concrete production.

In 2015, the factory site was razed to the ground for construction of temporary accommodation for 1,000 workers.

Since 2016, the construction site for Hinkley Point C has had its own bus company, Somerset Passenger Solutions (SPS), a joint venture between FirstGroup

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