China To Invest In Hinkley Point Nuclear Plant

George Osborne has said the UK is a "great home" for Chinese investment, after it was revealed a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset will be part funded by Chinese money.

Announcing the move during a five-day visit to China, the Chancellor said the proposed plant was "essential" to ensure the lights stay on as ageing nuclear and coal plants are retired over the coming 10 years.

He said the deal "paves the way for Chinese investment in UK nuclear and helps to secure the power supply for our country into the future.

"I think it is a partnership that is good for both countries."

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Hinkley Point C near Bridgwater will be Britain's first new nuclear power station for 20 years and will cost a total £25bn, with the Government providing £2bn of initial support.

It is expected to supply 7% of the UK's electricity needs and create tens of thousands of jobs, as well as boosting Britain's energy security, Mr Osborne said.

The Government's financial guarantee will pave the way for a final investment decision later this year by French company EDF, supported by China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation.

The Treasury made clear that further amounts will potentially be available in the longer term and voiced its hope that Hinkley Point will open the door to "unprecedented" UK-Chinese collaboration on power station construction.

Energy Secretary Amber Rudd described new nuclear power as "a vital part of our long-term plan to provide secure, clean energy supplies that hard-working families and businesses can rely on in the decades ahead".

The guarantee was "an important step forward for the first new nuclear power station in a generation and the future of our home-grown energy supplies," she said.

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EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz said: "The Chancellor's approval of the infrastructure guarantee is a clear sign of the Government's commitment to Hinkley Point C.

"The Government's determination to bring about a renewal of infrastructure and to attract inward investment to the UK are demonstrated by this good news."

But Greenpeace UK chief scientist Doug Parr dismissed the guarantee as a "PA smokescreen" to hide the reality that Hinkley Point is "bogged down in a swamp of troubles".

The GMB union welcomed the financial guarantee, but warned it should not be linked to a green light for the use of Chinese nuclear technology at Bradwell in Essex.

GMB national secretary for energy Brian Strutton, national secretary for energy at the GMB union, said: "Chinese nuclear technology is unproven and no UK government should even consider allowing it to be used in a new nuclear power station 60 miles from London.

"We have the technology and funding in the UK and MPs must insist that the UK Government goes ahead with that."