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Bradwell B granted electricity generating licence

Friday, 18 December 2020

Bradwell Power Generation Company Limited, which is proposing to construct the new Bradwell B nuclear power plant in Essex, has been granted an electricity generating licence by the UK's gas and electricity markets regulator Ofgem. A final decision has yet to be made to actually construct the plant, planned to feature a Chinese-designed Hualong One reactor.

Bradwell B granted electricity generating licence — A rendering of the UK HPR1000 (Image: CGN)

The company in June this year submitted its application to Ofgem for an electricity generating licence, which is required by all electricity generating companies. The application was accepted for consideration by Ofgem, which made it available for public consultation on its website. The closing date for comments was 18 August.

On 16 December, Ofgem granted the licence, authorising Bradwell B "to generate electricity in the area specified in Schedule 1 for the purpose of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so given."

"This is an important milestone on the journey to completing the Bradwell B project and demonstrates our continued progress," said Bradwell Power Generation CEO Alan Raymant. "The generating licence is one of many licences and permits we will need in order to develop, construct and operate Bradwell B. We will continue to work diligently, developing our proposals and building our team to demonstrate to the various regulatory bodies how we will deliver this vital piece of the UK's national energy infrastructure."

Bradwell Power Generation noted the issuance of the licence follows the publication this week of the UK government's Energy White Paper, which renewed the UK's long-standing commitment to developing low-carbon, large-scale, nuclear power which "continues to be an important source of reliable clean electricity".

Under a strategic investment agreement signed in October 2016, China General Nuclear (CGN) agreed to take a 33.5% stake in EDF Energy's Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, as well as jointly develop new nuclear power plants at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex. The Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C plants will be based on France's EPR reactor technology, while the new plant at Bradwell in Essex will feature the Hualong One design.

As part of that agreement, CGN formed a joint venture company with EDF Energy to seek regulatory approval for a UK version of the HPR1000 (Hualong One) design. The design is currently undergoing Generic Design Assessment.