Institution responds to Government granting planning permission for Hinkley Point C

The Institution's Dr Tim Fox says says the approval for Hinkley Point C is a welcome step in the building of new nuclear power plants in the UK.

Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said in response to Government’s approval of planning permission for Hinkley Point C:

“Although anticipated for months, the planning permission approved today is a welcome step on the way to the building of new nuclear power plants in the UK.

“However, the more important, and still uncertain step, will be for the Government to agree a 'strike price' – or a guaranteed future electricity price – for the power generated by the Hinkley Point C plant. It will need to be sufficiently attractive to investors from at home and outside of the UK for the plant to go ahead. Also, crucially, this price needs to be acceptable to the public when considered alongside strike prices agreed for electricity from renewables and other low carbon sources of power.

“We are transforming the energy system for the 21^st century and effectively at a start-up for new nuclear, so getting this balance right for the first plant is key to helping ensure future success with follow on projects.

“Hopefully a deal will be reached between the Government and EDF soon so that we will be able to make a start on the big engineering challenges ahead. The scale and complexity of the engineering required to build a nuclear power plant will require a highly capable workforce led by skilled engineers and project managers. More needs to be done to increase the number of people choosing engineering as a career to overcome a skills shortage. Over the next 10 years, the UK needs to be recruiting about 87,000 engineers a year but worryingly we are currently producing just 46,000 engineers a year. 

“There is also the issue of nuclear waste as the Government is yet to make significant steps forward in developing the Geological Disposal Facility for long term storage or in addressing the UK's stockpile of Plutonium.”