A NEW power station at Bradwell has moved a step closer after a similar project in Somerset was given the green light. Last year EDF Energy signed heads of terms – principles which precede a contract – with China General Nuclear Power Corporation for Bradwell B. The Chinese firm will provide two-thirds of development costs and hopes to begin work by 2023. Up to 25,000 jobs will be created during construction. Blackwater against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) has been campaigning against a new power station, saying the site is unsuitable. A spokesman for BANNG said: “Bradwell is the site of an irration- al and irresponsible dalliance with danger for us and the generations to follow. “Experts have shown that nuclear is not needed and indeed it will commit the UK to an outmoded system of supply.” But East Anglian MEP Vicky Ford, who visited Bradwell last year said she was encouraged by the news. She said: “Nuclear will play a vital part to our long-term energy mix and is key to the UK’s energy security strategy. I am pleased to see the Hinkley deal approved which sets the scene for future progress in the East.”
Clacton & Frinton Gazette 21st Sept 2016 read more »
PROPOSALS for a new power station in Essex have been backed by MPs as a similar project in Somerset is given the green light. Plans for a new power station at Bradwell-on-Sea have moved a step closer following the approval of a new £18billion nuclear plant in Hinkley Point in Somerset, which will be financed by both the French and Chinese governments. Chinese state-owned firm CGN, which is helping to build the Somerset plant, has stated the approval means it is now “able to move forward and deliver” a new plant at Bradwell. Simon Burns, Tory MP for Chelmsford welcomed the news. He said: “We have got to protect our energy supply and make sure we don’t lose any power. “Our energy sources should be mixed. “Bradwell over the past years was a provider of our nuclear energy and I see no problem with it starting up again with the next generation of nuclear power. “There is also the potential that it could create jobs in the area. “We have had a nuclear power station there before, on exactly the same site, and there was no (safety) problems with it.” But the news has dismayed members of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group, which has been campaigning against a new power station at Bradwell. A spokesman for the group said: “Bradwell is the site of an irrational and irresponsible dalliance with danger for us and the generations to follow.
Chelmsford Weekly News 21st Sept 2016 read more »