Plans for a third nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast have moved a step closer after the EU gave final approval for a station with the same design, supply chain and engineering in Somerset.
The go-ahead for a new £16 billion plant at Hinkley Point has been welcomed by ministers as kick-starting Britain's nuclear power programme, which includes plans to build two new reactors at Sizewell C.
The European Commission (EC) announced it had approved revised plans to subsidise and operate the Hinkley Point C plant, which will be built before Sizewell and has a shared pressurized water reactor design.
The announcement follows last October's deal between EDF and the UK Government on the key commercial terms for investment in Hinkley Point C, including a guaranteed 'strike price' for the electricity produced in Somerset and on the Suffolk coast near Leiston for 35 years.
The EC gave final approval only after the UK agreed to 'significantly modify' project financing terms by limiting excess state aid and any distortions of competition among single market member states.
The news came as an important boost for EDF, which aims to about 13% of the UK's electricity from both plants.
For the full story, read tomorrow's paper.
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