Union leaders have called for the Government to end “uncertainty” over plans to build a new nuclear power station in Suffolk in order to secure thousands of jobs. The GMB said reports that ministers are considering alternatives to the involvement of a Chinese company in building the £20billion Sizewell C complex risked the loss of huge numbers of jobs. Funding needs to be in place for the construction phase of the project by the autumn, or the whole scheme is at risk of collapsing, according to the union.

East Anglian Daily Times 30th July 2021 read more »

ITV 30th July 2021 read more »

If Ministers block China’s involvement, they need to tell us urgently who will pay before vital new nuclear project ahead of autumn deadline.

GMB Press Release 30th July 2021 read more »

MINISTERS must end the uncertainty around the Sizewell C nuclear project or risk it collapsing at the cost of 25,000 jobs, the GMB union warned today. Riding a wave of cold war rhetoric, ministers have threatened to block the involvement in power projects of Chinese companies such as CGN, which forms 20 per cent of the consortium aiming to build the new Suffolk reactor. The company also holds a one-third stake in the Hinkley Point C plant under construction in Somerset, and the union is also demanding that there be no disruption to those works.

Morning Star 30th July 2021 read more »

So much for Rishi Sunak telling his Mansion House audience at the start of this month that “too often, the debate on China lacks nuance”. Allowing China’s state-backed CGN to build nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C is already nuanced enough for most people — even before the Hong Kong clampdown, Uyghur-oppressing regime is let loose with its own tech at Bradwell in Essex. If the government’s finally got cold feet over all this, it’s about time. But, given the explosive costs of large nuclear, the debate shouldn’t be over how to replace China on these projects. It’s whether we need Sizewell and Bradwell at all.

Times 27th July 2021 read more »

Reflecting the increasingly sour relationship between the London and Beijing, the U.K. government is hoping to nudge China General Nuclear (CGN) out of its 20% ownership of the £20 billion Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk and open the project up to new (and preferably North American) investors, the Financial Times reported Monday. It is the U.K.’s latest step to remove CGN from all future nuclear energy projects in the U.K. and protect its critical infrastructure from China. The change in British mood affects other nuclear projects as well, including as the Bradwell-on-Sea plant in Essex which was to be owned by CGN, as well as the heavily delayed Hinkley Point C project—raising questions about the future of the U.K’s energy make-up. There are three nuclear plants being built with EPR technology—Finland’s Olkiluoto plant, France’s Flamanville and the U.K.’s Hinkley Point C—and they have all gone through embarrassing delays and cost overruns during construction. The only operating nuclear plant that uses EPR technology—China’s Taishan—was built by CGN.

Fortune 27th July 2021 read more »

BORIS JOHNSON’s £23billion nuclear power plant is under threat from the Government’s crackdown on China, according to sources who have warned of a “politically unpalatable” situation developing.

Express 28th July 2021 read more »

Nuclear energy is usually in the news “because something’s gone wrong”. Or so says The Economist’s Oliver Morton, but this week the issue is making headlines after Whitehall sources confirmed reports that Downing Street is having second thoughts about a tie-up with China to produce a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK. If energy policy does become “another victim” of the “geopolitical recalibration” of relations between the two nations, the UK may struggle to hit its target of achieving non-carbon energy generation by 2050, says The Telegraph. Yet while this dilemma highlights potential benefits of nuclear energy, critics point to the potential risks of, as Morton puts it, things “going wrong” with the technology – with the threat of nuclear warfare further increasing opposition. In the UK, attitudes to the energy source have shifted over the decade following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. In 2012, the first in a series of government surveys to gauge public opinion about nuclear energy and climate change found that 30% of households believed the risks of nuclear outweighed the benefits. But the latest poll findings, published in May, show that this figure has dropped to 17%, while 38% of the more than 4,000 households quizzed felt that nuclear provides a safe source of energy for the UK. Opinions about nuclear energy’s role in combating climate change have also changed, with 34% in 2012 agreeing that nuclear could help in the UK’s push to tackle the problem, rising to 38% in 2021.

The Week 29th July 2021 read more »

The government is facing fresh calls to review the involvement of China’s state nuclear group in the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative party leader, and Helena Kennedy QC urged ministers to “urgently clarify the status of CGN’s involvement” in the £23 billion project in Somerset, due to generate first power by 2026. CGN has a one-third stake and has staff on the ground working alongside the lead developer EDF of France. In a letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, Duncan Smith and Baroness Kennedy write: “Allowing CGN to continue playing a major role in the UK’s power grid grants the Chinese government a significant point of leverage and constitutes a key vulnerability at the heart of our national infrastructure.” They write on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international cross-party coalition including 46 British parliamentarians who want democratic countries to take a tougher stance on Beijing.

Times 28th July 2021 read more »

The Government is likely to become responsible for a huge bill for building Hinkley C power station. This is despite an insistence by the UK Government since they signed a deal with EDF to build Hinkley C in 2012 that electricity consumers will not have to pay for cost overruns for the project. Yet it is now looking increasingly likely that this will end up being the case. When the deal was signed in 2012 the Government agreed to pay a much higher than expected £92.50 per MWh (in 2012 prices), this price to be paid by consumers in their electricity bills (over twice the price given to recent offshore wind projects). The Government claimed that there would be no bail-out if the project experienced large cost overruns since the risk was borne by the holders of the share capital, EDF and also the Chinese state nuclear company, CGN. CGN holds around one third of the equity in Hinkley C. But now there are mounting pressures on the Government to ensure that, for political and security reasons, China (through CGN) is not allowed to build its own nuclear design at Bradwell in Essex. But now there are mounting pressures on the Government to ensure that, for political and security reasons, China (through CGN) is not allowed to build its own nuclear design at Bradwell in Essex. Yet CNG only agreed to finance Hinkley C (and also in a similar fashion the planned Sizewell C project in Sufflok) on the basis that it was going to get the chance to showcase its own ‘Hualong’ nuclear plant at Bradwell. If China’s Bradwell ambitions are thwarted then they will certainly pull out of the Sizewell C project and also do as much as is legally possible to forshorten their risks and responsibilities at Hinkley C. The Government is likely to have to take on big liabilities in the case of Hinkley C – that is against a long succession of pronouncements by Government ministers over the past nine years. Some are even urging the Government to take over all of CGN’s shareholdings in Hinkley C. But even if the Chinese company cannot reclaim the money it will have spent on the project so far, if CGN is denied the opportunity to build at Bradwell they are very likely to refuse to pay for any cost overruns at Hinkley C (as well as pull out of Sizewell C). This means that the UK Government will have to take on the liability of future cost overruns, and maybe end up in a major row with China about financial compensation.

100% Renewables 28thy July 2021 read more »

Gloucester-based energy firm EDF will be watching Government announcements regarding the future of the flagship Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project, as Chinese involvement comes under renewed scrutiny. Whitehall sources, The Telegraph is reporting, are indicating that the £23bn project underway in Somerset could be jeopardised by plans to block China General Nuclear (CGN) from future UK projects. The Hinkley reactor, part of the UK’s fresh push for nuclear power, is being partly funded by CGN in association with the French owned EDF.

Punchline Gloucester 27th July 2021 read more »

Reports say government is looking to keep state-owned energy company out of financing future schemes Nuclear projects in the UK including Hinkley Point C could be at risk with the government looking to bar China’s state-owned energy company from being involved in future projects. According to the Times, ministers are considering alternatives to the involvement of China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk.

Building 27th July 2021 read more »

The flagship of Britain’s new nuclear power fleet is under threat as the Government prepares curbs on Chinese involvement in critical national infrastructure. Whitehall sources admitted last night that the £23bn Hinkley Point C project underway in Somerset could be jeopardised by plans to block China General Nuclear (CGN) from future UK projects. The Hinkley reactor, Britain’s first in a generation, is being partially bankrolled by CGN as part of a wider deal with French company EDF to replace the UK’s aging nuclear plants. Under Government proposals which have not been officially confirmed, CGN’s involvement in subsequent planned projects, in Suffolk and Essex, would end. Government insiders said that there are concerns this could disrupt the linked deal under which CGN is developing Hinkley, where work is already significantly advanced. Ministers are preparing to introduce legislation to Parliament that would allow nuclear power developers to recoup costs from household bills. This could spark a significant backbench rebellion from MPs concerned about China if CGN is involved. Industry sources also suggested that EDF would find it easier to court pension funds and other institutional investors without the political risk of a major Chinese state partner. CGN owns about a third of Hinkley Point C and has a 20pc development phase stake in Sizewell C, with an option to participate in the construction phase. Its own reactor design for Bradwell is going through UK regulatory approval, with CGN hoping it can then export this technology more widely. The Times reported last night that the Government is considering buying an equity stake in Sizewell C as part of its moves to replace CGN, reversing a long-standing wish to keep nuclear build off the Government balance sheet.

Telegraph 26th July 2021 read more »

Boris Johnson has been warned that Britain’s first new nuclear power station in a generation could be put at risk if he pushes ahead with plans to bar China’s state-owned energy company from building future plants. Ministers are considering alternatives to the involvement of China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in the £20 billion Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, including the government taking a multibillion-pound equity stake. The government could also block the involvement of CGN in other projects, such as plans for a new nuclear power plant at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. However, a senior government source said that ministers would have to “go cautiously” because China is a major investor in Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is due to be operational in 2026 and will become the first new nuclear plant for a generation. “It’s very sensitive,” the source said. “If we push too hard on Sizewell it could have wider implications.” Another source familiar with the discussions said: “All the deals hang together. If you open up one of the deals, you open all of them. It’s never going to be as simple as ‘pull out of Sizewell’. I’d be amazed if CGN didn’t say: ‘You want us to put some more money into Hinkley Point? Well screw you.’ ” CGN is thought to have invested about £4 billion in Hinkley Point C so far, implying the Chinese company needs to invest close to the same amount again to complete the deal. It also has engineers on site. Who would replace it, should China take umbrage at being rejected elsewhere, is less clear.

Times 27th July 2021 read more »

It was never very likely that the government would allow a Chinese state-owned company to build a nuclear power station in Britain. So news that it is now looking for ways to remove China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) from future nuclear projects hardly comes as a surprise. Under the terms of a deal struck in 2015 CGN was to take minority stakes in two French-led new nuclear power stations, Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, while taking a majority stake in a third, Bradwell in Essex, which would use CGN’s own technology. This deal, first agreed by the coalition government, was approved with only minor alterations by Theresa May after a review concluded that Britain’s robust regulatory and technological safeguards were sufficient to protect against any threats to national security. Whether or not that assessment was right, the political context has since changed. The mood in parliament, particularly among Conservative MPs, has turned decisively against China, making it inconceivable that any government could allow China to build such sensitive national infrastructure. CGN was blacklisted from US government contracts in 2019 after being accused by the Trump administration of technology theft. That has made it harder for France’s EDF to attract the infrastructure investors that it needs to make Sizewell C financially viable. The risk is that China does not take its rejection well and the entire three-part deal unravels, with CGN withdrawing from Hinkley Point C in protest. That could leave EDF with a further shortfall of up to £4 billion.

Times 26th July 2021 read more »

UK looks to remove China’s CGN from nuclear power projects. The British government is exploring ways to remove China’s state-owned nuclear energy company from all future power projects in the UK. The change in mood will affect CGNs role in Sizewell and Bradwell. The UK-China Collaboration on nuclear power dates back to an agreement made by David Cameron in 2015. The deal envisaged CGN becoming a 20% partner in Sizewell and sealed Chinese investment in Hinkley. It also envisaged CGN becoming lead developer at Bradwell. One person familiar with the matter said the idea of CGN building a plant 50km from London was a non-starter. Another person said London was hoping that CGN would withdraw from both projects without confrontation.

FT 25th July 2021 read more »

Britain is exploring ways to remove China’s state-owned nuclear energy company China General Nuclear Power Group CGN) from all future power projects in the UK, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the plans.

Reuters 25th July 2021 read more »

Bloomberg 25th July 2021 read more »

City AM 26thy July 2021 read more »

China’s state-owned nuclear energy company could be blocked from all future power projects in the UK, with ministers understood to be investigating ways to prevent its involvement. The move would exclude China General Nuclear (CGN) from the consortium planning to build the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast, as well as one in Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. A Whitehall source confirmed a report by the Financial Times that first revealed the government is exploring ways of removing CGN from future projects.

Guardian 26th July 2021 read more »

Independent 26th July 2021 read more »

Daily Mail 26th July 2021 read more »

Evening Standard 25th July 2021 read more »

Telegraph 26th July 2021 read more »

British ministers are concerned about CGN’s involvement in critical UK infrastructure and believe Sizewell would be viable without the involvement of the Chinese company. This is despite EDF using the technical input of CGN engineers on Hinkley Point C, which will operate using European Pressurised Reactor technology, a Franco-German design. CGN’s Taishan nuclear power plant in southern China is the first in the world to operate using EPR technology and more than 100 CGN engineers have been involved with Hinkley Point C, around 50 on site in Somerset. But one nuclear expert expressed nervousness about a lack of CGN involvement in future projects involving EPRs: “It was the Chinese who built the [first operational] EPR.” The removal of CGN from Sizewell could nevertheless help EDF attract North American infrastructure investors to the project, which nuclear industry leaders say would otherwise be problematic with Chinese involvement. The US put CGN on an export blacklist in 2019 alleging it had stolen US technology for military purposes, while the Trump administration warned the UK against Chinese involvement in nuclear power. Theresa May, the former prime minister, came within a “whisker” of forcing CGN out of Hinkley Point C, according to one UK government figure. May ordered a review, which allowed the Somerset project to go ahead but only with certain stringent conditions attached. The government refused to confirm or deny that the government no longer wanted CGN taking part in the nuclear programme. “All nuclear projects in the UK are conducted under robust and independent regulation to meet the UK’s rigorous legal, regulatory and national security requirements, ensuring our interests are protected,” a spokesperson said.

Nikkei Asian Review 26th July 2021 read more »

Brian Wilson: Climate change: Greens’ obsessive opposition to nuclear power has harmed efforts to stop global warming – Brian Wilson. John Kerry’s visit to London and the “100 days to save the world” headlines it evoked have raised awareness that the Cop26 summit in Glasgow really can be quite a big deal. Whatever the other arguments about nuclear power, from a climate change perspective, running it down was folly. It meant everything we did on renewables was, in carbon reduction terms, only substituting for the closure of nuclear stations, and probably not even that. Intelligent environmentalists realised that and said so. The unco’ guid Greens either did not understand or did not care. The second mistake was to confuse capacity – the stuff of over-hyped press releases about a windfarm supplying hundreds of thousands of homes – with security.

Scotsman 24th July 2021 read more »

The Sizewell C process will provide important experience for a third new station, planned for Bradwell in Essex. This will also be on the east coast, although further south, and is adjacent to the existing Bradwell A plant (which ceased operation in 2002 and has been in the care and maintenance phase since 2018). The Bradwell project is in early discussions with National Infrastructure Planning but has not yet indicated when it will enter the formal process — the Chinese HPR1000 design to be employed only recently entered its licensing process at the Office for Nuclear Regulation. But scoping documents suggest that construction of the Proposed Development will take place over 9 to 12 years and will require facilities for around 4500 temporary staff. The document also notes that within 10km of the main development site there are 14 sites that are internationally and 11 that are nationally designated (generally for wildlife or landscape value), of which eight are within or very close to the main development site. A number of heritage assets are located within the main development site including three scheduled monuments. These are not insuperable objections but they are significant, both nationally and in winning local support for a project, as a selection of comments from recent public hearings held as part of the Sizewell C examination, reveals. The four days of hearings — online instead of in person, due to Covid restrictions — was largely a forum allowing local people to raise concerns, so they naturally saw local issues raised, rather than fears over nuclear safety or waste, although several speakers did raise specifically nuclear concerns. Among those, witnesses thought the reactor design was too powerful and not proven in use, was slow to build and the site was vulnerable to sea level rise. They also asked about whether the broader process was properly considered, and specifically whether EDF should have the funding model in place before seeking development consent. The funding model is currently under consideration by government and is expected to be on some form of regulated asset basis. Some objections over the plant, which is a major development in an area that is largely rural with small towns, focused on the effect on the relatively sparse local infrastructure and the loss of access to natural amenities such as beaches. Although the effects on both were acknowledged to be in large part temporary, nevertheless the construction timescale of a decade or more was considered ‘long term’ for parents with concerns about children or retirees who had moved to the area for its rural nature. An argument that the project would bring long term highly-skilled jobs to the region also with construction jobs — a key positive for supporters of the plant — were countered by fears over the region’s existing jobs. One witness said “the tourism industry was certainly on the last figures worth about 40,000 jobs, and was growing by 5% a year”. The permanent jobs offered by the new plant represent only “about one year’s growth in tourism,” they said.

Nuclear Engineering International 22nd July 2021 read more »