The European Commission has given the final go-ahead for building a new 16 billion pound nuclear power station in the UK, the British Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said on Wednesday.
The plant, which will be built by French energy giant EDF Energy at Hinkley Point in Somerset, southwest of England, will be the first to be set up in Britain in about 35 years, the Department added in a press release. The project will create 25,000 jobs and power six million homes.
A so-called "strike price" will be guaranteed to be paid to EDF for 35 years at around 92 pounds per megawatt hour - twice the current market rate. It will generate its first electricity in 2023, the expiry date for most of the nuclear power stations in the UK.
The European Commission, which has been examining funding for the power station under state aid rules since December, said London had agreed to "significantly modify" the terms of the project financing, which will achieve savings for taxpayers.