Hinkley Point C

EDF Energy and British Energy, prior to the merger of the two companies, undertake a series of exhibitions in the local area to explain early plans for a new nuclear power station adjacent to the two existing Hinkley Point power stations.

Hinkley Point C was nominated amongst a number of other sites, as part of the Government’s Strategic Siting Assessment, most of which were later designated by the Government as being suitable for nuclear new build.

The first formal stage of consultation for Hinkley Point C took place over nine weeks. The initial proposals were presented in a suite of consultation materials. This was the first time that a major nuclear project had undertaken its consultation under the Planning Act 2008 regime.

The most detailed stage of formal consultation for Hinkley Point C took place over 12 weeks. The preferred proposals were presented in a suite of consultation materials.

The Secretary of State opened the Skills Centre project which EDF Energy committed £3m towards. The project aims to enable people and businesses in the local community to develop the skills they need to secure jobs and contracts at HPC. Hinkley Point C is one of the first major projects to make significant investments at an early stage in skills and education infrastructure.

A supplementary stage of formal consultation following Stages 1 and 2, this took place over four weeks and was presented in a few key documents.

Contracts worth in excess of £9m had already been awarded to local firms at this early stage of the project.

This permission, granted to EDF Energy to prepare its site for construction, meant Hinkley Point C was the first major infrastructure project under the current planning regime to have such early investment. The site works include fencing and site excavation as well as £30m worth of measures towards mitigating the impact of the project. Consent for the power station itself was received in March 2013.

Consent to build a new power station requires a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the UK Planning Inspectorate and approval by the Secretary of State. The 55000 pages of detailed evidence produced as part of the application was unprecedented. The application was accepted by the Infrastructure Planning Commission on November 24th 2011.

Following a detailed four-year review by one of the most rigorous independent nuclear safety authorities in the world, this was a major milestone. The Office of Nuclear Regulation issued an Interim Design Acceptance Confirmation, and the Environment Agency issued an Interim Statement of Design Acceptability, for the EPR Pressurised Water Reactor. The design was fully approved a year later in 2012.

Following the decision in 2011 to grant permission for preparatory works, this agreement was signed with West Somerset Council to provide, amongst other things, support for local housing, leisure facilities, transport, and local ecology schemes.

West Somerset Community College in Minehead received £1.6 million from EDF Energy to build new training facilities and deliver a range of new courses in order to open up training opportunities for young people, businesses and those seeking to develop new skills. This assists these young and local unemployed people to be prepared for the employment opportunities presented by Hinkley Point C. Find out about our Inspire educational programme.

Bridgwater College was given £2 million from EDF Energy to help students and local people secure new skills, training and jobs for Hinkley Point C and to create a legacy of engineering excellence across the South West.

Figures from the Institute for Public Policy Research also suggested that rebuilding new nuclear energy capacity in the UK could create more than 32,000 additional jobs while giving a significant boost to annual exports. See the report. (Graph source: HM Government, BIS, Nuclear Industrial Strategy - The UK's Nuclear Future, 2013)

The 500 metre-long jetty to be used during the construction of Hinkley Point C will allow significant volumes of construction materials to be delivered by sea, as part of EDF Energy's transport strategy of minimising traffic on local roads. One sea vessel alone avoids up to 250 heavy goods vehicles using the local road network. Permission was given by the Marine Management Organisation and Secretary of State.

The breakthrough settlement, between EDF Energy, West Somerset, Sedgemoor District and Somerset County Councils, agreed nearly £100 million for local communities to mitigate the impact of Hinkley Point C. This includes the £30m agreed for the preparatory works in Jan 2012. Within the Development Consent Order section 106, more than £64 million was agreed to be spent on supporting local communities and services such as education, training, transport and housing. Visit the community hub for more information on the latest activity.

A collaboration between EDF Energy and West Somerset Community College designed to help local students maximise opportunities from the new power station, two new Hinkley Point C training and skills projects were launched at the College at the official opening of its new facilities. Find out more about our Inspire programme for young people.

In addition to the 1000 firms, £61 million worth of contracts were also already awarded by this stage across the south west. Find out how to become a supplier.

The consultation took place over 11 weeks. The initial proposals were presented in a suite of consultation materials.

This Site Licence was the first to be awarded for a new power station in the UK for 25 years. By granting the Site Licence, the UK’s independent nuclear regulator recognised that the new build organisation had developed the required management structure, plans and procedures needed for the construction, commissioning and operation of Hinkley Point C.

The UK EPR (Trademark) design application submitted jointly by EDF Energy and AREVA was the first to successfully complete a thorough examination process in the UK, known as a Generic Design Assessment, by the safety and environmental authorities. It was a major milestone for HPC and meant that there was a stable design before the beginning of construction.

This decision followed three years of in-depth consultation with local communities and a year long examination by the UK Planning Inspectorate. The approval was met with wide political consensus in the House of Commons. The approval by the Secretary of State meant that Hinkley Point C is the first piece of national infrastructure on this scale to be approved under the new 2008 Planning Act.

EDF Energy signed two important labour relations agreements with the GMB, UCATT, Unite and Prospect unions and the main civil engineering contractor Bouygues Laing O’Rourke which addressed the management of industrial relations, as well as pay and conditions. The agreements demonstrated a partnership approach between EDF Energy, unions and contractors and a joint commitment to the success of the proposed project.

A big day for the project. Not only did EDF Group and the UK Government reach in principle an agreement on the key commercial terms for an investment contract of the planned Hinkley Point C power station, but confirmation was received that the project will benefit from the Government’s Infrastructure Guarantee Scheme. Also, letters of intent were signed with equity partners, key terms of the four main engineering and construction contracts were agreed, and broad terms for a Funded Decommissioning Programme were also agreed.

At this phase of the project these works help to prepare the site ahead of the main construction following a final investment decision. These initial works include the construction of roundabouts, temporary construction roads and drainage works, all of which are reversible. Visit our community hub to see the planned works.

The European Commission approved the agreements between EDF Group and the UK Government to build Hinkley Point C.  Its decision followed a rigorous and detailed examination of the deal during a 12 month investigation by the European Commission.

For more information see our statement.

Energy Minister Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP officially opened Bridgwater College’s Construction Skills and Innovation Centre.

The Construction Skills and Innovation Centre is the result of  a £1.5million investment from EDF Energy and offers a new civil engineering curriculum including training in excavation, ground works, concrete pouring, formwork and steel, replicating a real life construction site with industry-standard plant, machinery and equipment. The facility will play a crucial role in training the future construction workforce for Hinkley Point C.

A new nuclear skills college announced to train future workers and develop world class skills to meet the skills needs of the growing nuclear industry – including at HPC.

The college is a partnership between Government and nuclear employers, led by EDF Energy and Sellafield Ltd, with plans announced for two hubs, one in Somerset and the other in West Cumbria. Education providers for the South-West Hub include Bridgwater College and the University of Bristol.

As part of EDF Energy’s work to form a supply chain ready to build Hinkley Point C, the names of further preferred bidders were announced, with combined contract values of more than £1.5billion.

Of these, a number of south-west companies, having been encouraged to join forces, created joint ventures to supply site services, transport and accommodation with combined contract values totalling more than £225m.

While on a five day tour of China, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced an initial government guarantee for Hinkley Point C, provided by Infrastructure UK. The initial deal is set to be worth around £2 billion.

Mr Osborne said “I am delighted to announce this guarantee for Hinkley Point today and to be in China to discuss their investments in Britain’s nuclear industry. It is another move forward for the golden relationship between Britain and China – the world’s oldest civil nuclear power and the world’s fastest growing civil nuclear power.”

As part of ongoing work to develop a supply chain to build Hinkley Point C, EDF Energy announced two further preferred bidder contracts worth over £100m.

Rolls-Royce is set to supply heat exchangers in a contract worth over £25m and a Rolls Royce/Nuvia partnership has been selected as the preferred bidder for a contract valued over £75m for the treatment and waste processing of reactor coolant.

See our interactive map to see a full list of preferred bidders

An important step in the new nuclear programme in the UK, the waste transfer contracts were approved by the European Commission.

The contracts are a fundamental element of the Funded Decommissioning Programme which means that the full costs of decommissioning and waste management associated with new nuclear power stations will be set aside by the generator during generation. The cost of this Funded Decommissioning Programme was taken into account in the strike price agreed for Hinkley Point C in October 2013.

In the presence of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) signed a Strategic Investment Agreement for joint investment for two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C. Under this agreement, EDF has a 66.5% share in Hinkley Point C while CGN has 33.5%.

The signing also included all contracts between EDF and the UK Government and with key suppliers, all in final agreed form, and the Heads of Terms for the joint development of new nuclear power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex.

Working in partnership with Somerset County Council, district and parish councillors and contractor Aggregate Industries, EDF Energy completes a new bypass to route traffic around the village of Cannington, close to the Hinkley Point C site.

The bypass forms part of a £16million package of road improvements which also include new roundabouts on the A39 at Washford Cross and at Sandford Corner and road improvements at Taunton Road / Broadway in Bridgwater.

The investment aims to minimise the impact of construction traffic on the local area and provides a permanent lasting legacy from the Hinkley Point C development.

Following seven months of productive verbal exchange and sharing of substantial information with employees’ representatives, EDF concludes an official 60-day consultation process with the EDF Company Works Council (CCE).

The process demonstrates the company’s commitment to social dialogue.

EDF’s Board of Directors make the final investment decision to build two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

The decision provides the EDF President the authorisation to begin the process of signing all the necessary contracts and agreements with the British Government, EDF’s historic partner China General Nuclear Power Generation (CGN) and the main suppliers of the project.