Written question asked by Malcolm Wicks (Labour) on Friday, 11 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 November 2011. It was answered by Charles Hendry (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 November 2011 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Nuclear Power Stations: Hinkley Point

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what timetable has been set for the construction stages of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point; and what recent assessment he has made of progress against the timetable.

Answer: In October 2011 the Department of Energy and Climate Change published a refreshed version of the Department's indicative timeline for the first nuclear new build in the UK, including the actions the Government are taking. It indicates a development consent decision in early 2013 and (should such a decision be favourable) commissioning and operation from 2018. It is available here:"http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/nuclear/new/new.aspx"However, new nuclear power stations will be constructed by the private sector who will set their construction timetables. EDF Energy's application for development consent contains an indicative construction timetable to be used for planning assessment purposes. The application was submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) by EDF on 31 October 2011 and the IPC has until 29 November 2011 to decide whether it will accept the application. Once the IPC has decided, the application including the indicative construction timetable will be published and will be available at:"http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-new-nuclear-power-station/"

Secondary information