Hinkley Point: Explained
WHAT IS HINKLEY POINT C?
Hinkley Point C was announced in 2008 as one of eight new nuclear power stations by the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
It was hoped to build a new 3,200-megawatt station with two reactors on the same site as the disused Hinkley Point A and still operational Hinkley Point B.
The estimated cost will be around £18 billion pounds - a price split between French company EDF and China General Nuclear Power.
WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?
Power is expected to begin flowing from the plant in 2025.
It will provide 'low-carbon' electricity for five million homes, that's 7% of all UK homes.
It will create 25,000 jobs during its construction period.
Around 5,600 people will be employed on site at peak, with 900 permanent jobs created throughout its proposed 60 years of operation.
It will generate £100 million a year for the regional economy during peak construction.
When it is operational £40 million a year will go into the regional economy - totalling more than £2bn over its lifetime.
BUT WHY DO WE NEED IT?
It's argued that new nuclear stations will reduce the UK's reliance on imported gas and other non-renewable energies.
The UK's existing nuclear plants are coming to the end of their working lives.
The UK's other remaining coal-fired power plants are also expected to close in the next 10 years.
WHY IS EDF INVOLVED?
EDF - which is 85% owned by the French government - bought British Energy, which owned the UK's nuclear power stations, in 2008
In October 2011 EDF announced plans to build Hinkley Point C - just a year later they began searching for more investors.
In 2015 they signed a deal with China General Nuclear Power Corporation, who agrees to pay one-third of the cost.