UK approval of Sizewell C nuclear plant lawful, court rules - Reuters.com
UK approval of Sizewell C nuclear plant lawful, court rules | Reuters
UK approval of Sizewell C nuclear plant lawful, court rules
LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Britain's approval of the planned Sizewell C nuclear plant was lawful, London's High Court ruled on Thursday, dismissing a legal challenge over the environmental impact of the project.
The building of the plant by French energy giant EDF (EDF.PA) in southeast England, capable of producing around 3.2 gigawatts of electricity or enough to power around 6 million homes, was approved in July 2022.
Campaign group Together Against Sizewell C argued at a hearing in March that Britain unlawfully failed to consider alternatives to nuclear power to meet its emissions targets.
But Judge David Holgate rejected the group's challenge in a written ruling on Thursday.
Holgate ruled Britain approved the project in line with its energy policy, which he said aimed to achieve "diversity of methods of generation and security of supply".
Together Against Sizewell C's case was an attempt "to rewrite the government's policy aims by pretending that the central policy objective is ... to produce clean energy, without any regard to diversity of energy sources and security of supply", Holgate ruled.
A spokesperson for Sizewell C welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement that the project will "unlock major benefits for Suffolk and the rest of Britain".
Together Against Sizewell C chair Jenny Kirtley said the decision "does not signal the end of our efforts", adding: "We will examine every avenue of opposition until all are exhausted."
EDF anticipates both reactors at Sizewell C will be operational by mid-2034, its lawyers said at the March hearing.
The British government announced in November that it would support Sizewell C with around 700 million pounds ($895 million) while taking a 50% stake during its development phase.
At the time, business minister Grant Shapps said the plant would secure "greater energy independence", a key focus since Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent energy costs surging.
($1 = 0.7822 pounds)
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.