THE UK TO HAVE A NEW NUCLEAR PLANT TO BE COMPLETED BY 2023 BY THE FRENCH–150 MILES FROM THE IRISH COAST–BUT IN THE US WITH THE DEMOCRATS STONEWALLING ON THE COMPLETED PAID FOR NUCLEAR REPOSITORY WITH LEGAL AFTER LEGAL OBSTRUCTION–THE US MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO UPGRADE ITS AGING NUCLEAR FACILITY–AND THE DEMOCRATS IN POWER WOULD SAY WITH RHETORIC ONE THING BUT NEVER FULFILL ANY SUBSTANTIAL FIRM SOLUTION TO GROWING AND LOWERING THE HIGH COST OF ENERGY

THERE was anger last night at a decision by the European Commission to give the green light to a new £16 billion nuclear plant in Britain, just 150 miles from the Irish coast.

The power station will be built by French company EDF at Hinkley Point in Somerset, in the southwest of England, after EU regulators found that Britain had not breached state aid rules.

In the first nuclear plant to be approved for a generation, two reactors are now set for completion by 2023, providing energy for the UK for around 60 years.

Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the decision had been based solely on state subsidy rules, "personal or political" standpoints.

The Republic's National Trust, An Taisce, lost a legal bid to block the project in August when the High Court in London rejected its argument that British authorities had not consulted their Irish counterparts before granting consent for construction.

At the time An Taisce spokesman James Nix pointed out that the nuclear power station would be as close to the Irish coast as it was to London.

The Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria directly opposite the east coast of Ireland remains a source of tension between successive British and Irish governments.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan last night accused Europe of breaking its own competition rules by allowing "massive subsidies" for UK power plants, claiming yesterday's decision brought the EU closer to a "highly centralised energy model" that hindered development of a "cleaner, safer and more efficient energy future".

He also accused the Republic's government of turning a blind eye to the dawning of Britain's "new nuclear age", which did not take into account "the security risks" or "massive clean-up costs" when the plant is being decommissioned.

Sinn Fein's Michael Colreavy also described the proposed plant as a "regressive step", adding: "It is very disappointing to see that the British government is moving away from renewable, green energy and instead are proposing to use potentially dangerous energy sources such as nuclear."

 

http://www.irishnews.com/news/irish-anger-at-europe-over-consent-for-uk-nuke-plant-1385339