Today’s decision to give the go-ahead for Hinkley C after a six-week review seems to confirm what was indicated in July: that Theresa May’s problem with the project was mostly concerned with security issues. What has been announced today is that the government will take a special share in all future nuclear power projects to prevent the plants being sold to unapproved investors. There is no indication that ministers have sought to renegotiate the price. Consumers will still pay EDF for the electricity generated by Hinkley for the next 35 years: £92.50 for every MWh – around double the current wholesale market price.
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Owen Matthews
Why Russia should agree to a ceasefire – and five reasons Putin might not
The government has lost an opportunity to bail out of what already promises to be an absurdly expensive form of energy but which could yet prove to cost taxpayers and consumers far more.
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