Crunch decision

The meeting of the EDF board of directors on Thursday (July 28) to make the crunch decision on the financial go-ahead for the Hinkley Point nuclear power station has been welcomed by Unite.

“It has been a long journey, but we are within sight of the ‘promised land’ – the making of the ‘final investment decision’ (FID) for the Somerset plant,” said Unite national officer for energy Kevin Coyne.

“The go-ahead is desperately needed on a number of grounds – to help keep the lights on in Britain in the decades ahead and as a fulcrum for the creation of thousands of jobs and related economic activity in the West Country.

“The FID will be the last piece of the complex financial jig-saw for this much-needed project – we warmly welcome the fact that the board of the energy giant EDF is poised to make this historic decision,” he added.

“This will be the first big litmus test for large infrastructure projects receiving the go-ahead, following the Brexit vote last month.”

Unite and the other unions involved regard the go-ahead for the £18bn project, which would generate seven per cent of UK electricity demand, as vital in terms of providing thousands of jobs and ‘keeping the lights on’ in the years ahead.  Because of delays, the start date for electricity generation has been put back to 2025.