Damian Carrington reports that China will take a one-third stake in a French-led project to build a new 24 billion pound nuclear power plant in the UK at Hinkley Point in Somerset, expected to be the largest and most expensive ever built.
The deal was signed between state-owned companies from China and France just hours before the Chinese president, Xi Jinping , arrived in London for a state visit, and is due to be announced on Wednesday. It will lead to a final investment decision - the point of no return - by the end of 2015, according to the Financial Times.
The companies - France EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation - will be the only investors, having failed to attract others. The new completion date for the two reactors at Hinkley Point is 2025.
The deal is strongly backed by the chancellor, George Osborne. The government believes the new plant, which would deliver 7% of the UK electricity, represents good value for low-carbon electricity which, barring problems, is always on.
The plant has been promised 92 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh) for 35 years, double the current average wholesale electricity price, with any shortfall being paid by consumers via household energy bills. Hinkley Point will also be backed by up to £17 billion of UK government loan guarantees.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers have welcomed the Hinkley plan. Nuclear is set to play a central and vital role in the UK energy future, said the IME Jenifer Baxter. Although the financial costs of nuclear power seem high, this power station will provide and modernize the diversification we so badly need in ensuring the UK lights stay on.
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