Boris Johnson has vowed to bring ‘nuclear power home’ whilst visiting Hinkley Point C near Burnham-On-Sea this week.
The prime minister visited the multi-billion pound nuclear power station on Thursday (April 7th) along with other cabinet ministers to announce his new energy strategy.
Over the next 30 years an additional eight reactors could be built across the country although there are real concerns that the Hinkley C, now dubbed the largest construction site in Europe, could miss its already delayed target of 2026.
Despite that the PM said that he was confident in securing a bright future for nuclear energy in the UK over the coming decades.
The PM was also questioned about how this new plan won’t help to ease the current strains on households across the country as the price of energy continues to rise.
“We are already doing a huge amount to help people with the immediate cost of living and we are going to do more,” Mr Johnson said.
The UK’s new strategy would mean that it has more independence and is no longer reliant on Russian energy or other sources that have seen a huge increase in prices in recent months.
“We are set well for the future and we will never again be subject to blackmail from people such as Vladimir Putin and this is a massive strategy that will ensure energy security here in the UK,” Mr Johnson continued.
“We are totally reviving the nuclear industry. We are bringing nuclear power home.”
Nuclear energy provides a consistent stream of energy and after the turmoil in the markets, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the supply could help protect the finances of households in the UK in the future, it was claimed.
There will be no new target, however, for onshore wind – which has proved unpopular with some Tory activists and MPs. The government has pledged it will not make “wholesale changes” to planning laws in England for onshore sites, which were tightened in 2015.
Instead, it will consult a “limited number of supportive communities” about hosting new sites, in exchange for guaranteed discounts on energy bills. Labour accused the prime minister of “caving” to his backbenchers, and not doing enough to boost new onshore sites.
