BSRIA is disappointed that a final decision on Hinkley Point C has been delayed “yet again” despite EDF giving the £18bn project the green light last Thursday. Especially as this now adds more “fuel to the fire” that government is discouraging renewable energy. Now that government is stalling on nuclear, this begs the question as to what exactly is its energy policy?
Government announced there would be a review to “consider carefully all the component parts of this project”, to report in “early autumn”. Board members at EDF voted 10 to 7 in favour of approving funding for the project at a board meeting in Paris on Thursday evening. But shortly after EDF’s announcement, business and energy secretary Greg Clark announced a shock review of the project.
Julia Evans, Chief Executive, BSRIA, said: “Recently there has been less than industry-friendly energy u-turns – indeed we need to engage with Dr Clark to see what his vision for the role is. BSRIA has invited the Secretary of State to work closely with industry.
Delivering the change that is required to meet the carbon emission targets will require long term investment from industry; this will only happen if it has the confidence to do so. We now need the new ministers to quickly endorse the decision to show they are serious about industrial strategy and creating our low carbon energy supplies of the future.
After years of procrastination, what is required is decisive action – not dithering and more delay. This decision of national importance sends completely the wrong signal to investors and the world.
For the time being, building managers have to do what they can to cope with the possibility that the incoming power to their building might go down and the lights might literally go out.
What is clear is that BSRIA cannot predict what political decisions will be made today and political decisions are becoming less predictable.”