Europe’s biggest power company has been buying up land around Hinkley Point power station, near Burnham-On-Sea, and could soon be the plant’s new company if take-over talks are successful.
EDF has been buying land close to two nuclear sites on the island of Anglesey in north Wales and Hinkley Point, according to The Financial Times newspaper.
The land acquisitions give the company the option to build its own nuclear power stations if its bid to buy British Energy fails.
EDF has said, though, that it has not yet begun applying for permission to build reactors on the land it has acquired.
EDF reportedly wants to build two 1,600 megawatt reactors, giving a total output of 3,200 megawatts, nearly three times that of Hinkley B (1,250 MW).
Jim Duffy of the Stop Hinkley campaign group said: “Europe’s largest power company is stealthily lining itself up to build the two biggest nuclear reactors in the world at Hinkley. I’m concerned about the hugeness of this project with its associated factors of safety and terrorism. The radiation just in the spent fuel stores would add up to forty times that released by Chernobyl. If the Government believes its own line that terrorism is an active threat we shouldn’t go ahead with this ghastly plan.”
EDF made a takeover offer for British Energy last Friday, submitting a proposal to the company’s board but it did not disclose the price. British Energy shares fell by more than two per cent on Friday amid speculation that the EDF offer is less than hoped. The government owns a 35% stake in British Energy and has indicated that it is prepared to sell at the right price.
One of Hinkley Point’s reactors was shut down last week after ‘tripping’ – as reported here by Burnham-On-Sea.com.
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