The United Kingdom’s government Thursday approved a controversial nuclear power plant costing 18 billion pounds ($23.8 billion), financed by the French and Chinese governments.
The government of new Prime Minister Theresa May, a conservative, approved the Hinkley Point C plant after postponing the decision in July.
{mosads}The plant, with two reactors, is due to open around 2023, becoming the first new nuclear plant in the U.K. in a generation, BBC News reports.
It will be built by EDF, a French state-owned energy company, with significant financing from China’s government.
Seeking to reassure citizens concerned about the foreign financing, May’s government said it is instituting new controls on foreign investment.
The conditions “mean that, while the U.K. will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works in the country’s best interests,” the government said in a statement.
“There will be reforms to the government’s approach to the ownership and control of critical infrastructure to ensure that the full implications of foreign ownership are scrutinized for the purposes of national security.”
Jean-Bernard Lévy, head of EDF, said the U.K. approval “marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe.”
Beyond the foreign investment concerns, some consumer advocacy and environmental groups objected to Hinkley C due to concerns of the high costs to be borne by ratepayers and the safety and environmental impacts of nuclear power.
“There are still huge outstanding financial, legal and technical obstacles that can’t be brushed under the carpet,” John Sauven, U.K. director at Greenpeace, said in a statement.
“There might be months or even years of wrangling over these issues. That’s why the government should start supporting renewable power that can come online quickly for a competitive price.”