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Financial Times: EDF poised to lodge Sizewell C nuclear plant application

Read online: https://www.ft.com/content/613a9ba7-f720-4224-9c24-cd63a8d26643

EDF poised to lodge Sizewell C nuclear plant application

Suffolk residents cry foul as French group seeks to continue process despite lockdown

Nathalie Thomas

EDF is poised to submit a planning application for a large nuclear power station on England’s east coast despite opponents’ complaints that Britain’s coronavirus lockdown will hamper proper scrutiny of the project.

Suffolk residents have raised concerns about how they can examine and contest the application for the Sizewell C plant after government scientific advisers warned that disruptive social distancing measures would probably be in place all year.

The French utility has been working with Chinese state-owned nuclear company CGN on the plans for Sizewell, which could provide 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity. The two companies are already constructing Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the UK’s first new nuclear plant in three decades, but the project has been hit by cost overruns and delays. EDF warned last year that Hinkley’s completion could cost an extra £2.9bn, taking the total to £22.5bn.

Alison Downes, a Suffolk resident who represents campaign group Stop Sizewell C, said submitting the application during the Covid-19 pandemic would “escalate anxiety at a time when people have got a huge amount of others things to be anxious about”.

She added that people would not be able to hold meetings to discuss the company’s plans while social distancing measures were in place.

EDF, which is expected to submit its application in early May, said it had planned to do so at the end of March but delayed because of the pandemic.

Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, managing director for nuclear development at EDF Energy, the French utility’s UK division, wrote to Suffolk parish councillors this month saying the company had received assurances from the UK’s Planning Inspectorate that it had the resources to process the application during lockdown.

He said EDF would discuss with the inspectorate the possibility of delaying the “examination phase” of the process — during which hearings are held with stakeholders — “until they are happy that no parties will be disadvantaged”.

EDF is keen to press ahead with the planning processes. It argues that Sizewell C could be built for 20 per cent less than Hinkley by replicating what it has done in Somerset and transferring experienced staff from one project to another. It is hoping to take a final investment decision on Sizewell C at the end of 2021 or in early 2022.

However, there are also big question marks over the funding for Sizewell C. EDF has been pushing for a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, a type of financing used for other infrastructure projects such as electricity networks and the Thames Tideway “super sewer” in London.

But the proposal has attracted criticism from opponents of nuclear power, who point out such a financing scheme would mean consumers are paying upfront via their energy bills for new plants before they are even built. The government launched a consultation on the RAB model last year but has yet to report back.

Campaigners urge EDF to abandon Sizewell C permission bid until after virus crisis

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/edf-asked-not-to-suibmit-dco-until-after-covid-19-1-6607925

PUBLISHED: 11:54 15 April 2020 | UPDATED: 11:54 15 April 2020

Campaigners have made fresh calls for EDF Energy to delay its Sizewell C planning consent submission until after the lockdown is over – amid concerns that it would be “intolerable and unfair” to add extra anxiety to people at this time.

The company intends to make a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the twin-reactor nuclear power station in the next few weeks.

It has assured the public that there will be time for them to give their views, even if the restrictions on movement because of the coronavirus continue.

A total of 54 town and parish councils in east Suffolk have already written to EDF asking for the DCO to be put on hold until after the crisis is over.

In a joint statement, Stephen Brett, chairman of Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council, and Tim Beach, chairman of Snape Parish Council, who led the letter from town and parish councils, said: “EDF’s reply to 54 town and parish councils fails to adequately address the constraints that we, the district council and county council are under, and our need to focus on maintaining core services.

“It also completely ignores the current concerns of the tens of thousands of ordinary people living in those 54 towns and parishes; their heightened anxiety, sickness or bereavement; loss of employment and money worries; or working on the frontline for the NHS or other essential services.

“For many people, Sizewell C is in itself a source of grave anxiety, so to have to deal with EDF’s application along with everything else at this time is intolerable and unfair.

“We call on EDF again to reconsider.”

Paul Collins, of Stop Sizewell C, said “If EDF’s application is submitted in the near future, then we are particularly concerned about the ability of the older and more vulnerable members of our society to fully and effectively engage in the process.

“Time is not the only issue: many of those who attend our public meetings do not use the internet or would struggle without assistance to access materials effectively. If libraries remain closed and meetings are prohibited, extending the pre-examination period to 12 weeks is unlikely to help such members of our society, hence our call for a delay until coronavirus restrictions are lifted. We remain very concerned about the fairness of this process.”

EDF Energy said people and organisations will have the summer months to read the full planning application and to register their interest if they plan to comment.

It will be asking if this pre-application phase, usually 28 days, can be extended to give people more time to access the documents. At this time, EDF will also distribute a newsletter to 40,000 local homes and businesses.

EDF said: “Crucially, we will also discuss with PINS that the examination phase itself should not start until they are happy that no parties will be disadvantaged. There is no prospect of the examination commencing even in normal circumstances for approximately five to six months.”