Luxembourg to file complaint against UK nuclear power subsidies

(PFM) Luxembourg and Austria are planning legal action against European Commission subsidies for the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the UK.

As of April 29, Luxembourg and Austria have two months to file a complaint and present it in front of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Financing an "unprofitable and unsafe energy source" with public funds is not the purpose of a consistent energy policy, said Luxembourg Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg (Déi Gréng) in parliament.

Additionally, Greenpeace has also expressed its objection to the EC's decision, arguing that it is not compatible with EU regulations concerning state aid.

However, after an in-depth review and revised UK plans in October 2014, Commission Vice-President Joaquín Almunia, in charge of competition policy stated that there are no violations.

"After the Commission's intervention, the UK measures in favour of Hinkley Point nuclear power station have been significantly modified, limiting any distortions of competition in the Single Market. These modifications will also achieve significant savings for UK taxpayers. On this basis and after a thorough investigation, the Commission can now conclude that the support is compatible with EU state aid rules," he said.

Possible safety issues

Greenpeace has also been questioning the safety of the project and believes there are too many risks involved.

To illustrate these risks they cited the example of the construction of the Flamanville 3 reactor at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northern France.

In April 2015, nuclear company Areva informed the French nuclear regulator, ASN, that anomalies had been detected in the reactor vessel steel, causing "lower than expected mechanical toughness values." Further tests are underway.

Greenpeace believes that such anomalies are no exception, as more vessels have been produced by Areva using the same procedures that have caused the anomalies in Flamanville.

Two of those vessels are part of the nuclear plant in Taishan, China, with the first reactor likely to come online by the end of the year.

Two others were constructed for the Hinkley Point C plant in the UK.

“The issues with the vessels are once again proving the fact that nuclear power presents more risks than solutions and give good reason to Luxembourg and Austria for filing their complaint," Roger Spautz from Greenpeace Luxembourg said.

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is a project to construct another 3,200 MWe nuclear power station with two European Pressurised Reactors in Somerset, England.

The site had been announced as one of the eight candidates by the British government in 2010, the application for development consent by NNB Generation Company was submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission on October 31, 2011, and the project was approved in October 2014 by the European Commission.

The plant should be completed in 2023 and remain operational for 60 years.