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Tieng Anh Vui
Will the new nuclear plant mean cheaper bills? Energy Secretary Ed Davey is challenged at a news conference
A deal to build the UK's first nuclear station in a generation has been hailed as a "historic day" for the UK, by EDF chief executive Vincent de Rivaz.
Energy giant EDF will lead a consortium, which includes Chinese investors, to build the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset.
Energy secretary Edward Davey said it was "a very good deal for Britain", and would help lower energy bills.
"We're facing a looming energy crisis," he said.
"If people at home want to be able to keep watching the television, be able to turn the kettle on, and benefit from electricity, we have got to make these investments,'' Mr Davey told the BBC. ``It is essential to keep the lights on and to power British business.''
Mr Rivaz called the deal "good, fair and balanced for consumers, the UK and EDF."
The government estimates that with new nuclear power - including Hinkley - the average energy bill in 2030 will be £77 lower than it would have been without the new plants.
However, at a press conference Mr Davey said that this level of cost savings could not be guaranteed.
"I can't guarantee that, of course I can't. There are a huge amount of uncertainties here," he said.
Mr Davey plans to submit Britain's application for state aid clearance to the European Commission for the new nuclear power plant later this week,
"I'm confident we will manage to argue our case," Mr Davey said.
Wholesale cost of generating electricity in £/MWH
The two reactors planned for Hinkley, which will provide power for about 60 years, are a key part of the coalition's drive to shift the UK away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon power.
Ministers and EDF have been in talks for more than a year about the minimum price the company will be paid for electricity produced at the site, which the government estimates will cost £16bn to build.
The two sides have now agreed the "strike price" of £92.50 for every megawatt hour of energy Hinkley C generates. This is almost twice the current wholesale cost of electricity.
'Competitive'
This will fall to £89.50 for every megawatt hour of energy if EDF Group goes ahead with plans to develop a new nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk. Doing both would allow EDF to share costs across both projects.
Angela Knight: "we will have cheaper power, cheaper electricity than we would otherwise"
Mr Davey said the deal was "competitive" with other large-scale clean energy and gas projects.
"While consumers won't pay anything up front, they'll share directly in any gains made from the project coming in under budget," he added.
Angela Knight, chief executive of trade body Energy UK, said because the UK would not have to pay anything until Hinkley Point C produced energy, expected in 2023, there was time to act to reduce energy use.
"We've got ten years in which to insulate our homes better. We've got ten years to take the steps that some other countries have taken - especially those in colder countries - to make sure that we can keep warm but use less," she said.
However, Friends of the Earth's policy and campaigns director Craig Bennett said the agreement meant "locking the UK into costly nuclear power for decades".
"The quickest way to end our costly fossil fuel dependency is though energy efficiency and renewable power, not new reactors that will suck up precious investment and take years to complete," he said.
Dr Paul Dorfman, from the Energy Institute at University College London, said "what it equates to actually is a subsidy and the coalition said they would never subsidise nuclear".
He added: "It is essentially a subsidy of between what we calculate to be £800m to £1bn a year that the UK taxpayer and energy consumer will be putting into the deep pockets of Chinese and French corporations, which are essentially their governments."
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China invests
Chinese companies China National Nuclear Corporation and China General Nuclear Power Corporation will be minority shareholders in the project.
The move follows Chancellor George Osborne's announcement last week that Chinese firms would be allowed to invest in civil nuclear projects in the UK.
Ed Miliband: "The prime minister... can't freeze prices now for the consumer"
Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has pledged to freeze energy prices for 20 months if he wins the next election, said the party supported the development of new nuclear power stations, but would scrutinise the terms of the deal to ensure it delivered value for money for consumers.
"We've got the Prime Minister who says he can fix prices 35 years ahead for the energy companies but he can't freeze prices now for the consumer. No wonder we've got a cost of living crisis in this country," he added.
The existing plant at Hinkley currently produces about 1% of the UK's total energy, but this is expected to rise to 7% once the expansion is complete in 2023.
The announcement is not legally binding and it will be 2014 before EDF makes a final investment decision on the project.
But it comes as concerns about domestic energy bills move up the agenda, with SSE, British Gas and Npower, three of the UK's "big six" gas and electricity suppliers, all having announced price increases.
About 25,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction of the power plant, as well as 900 permanent jobs during its 60-year operation.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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