Hinkley delay could jeopardise UK carbon emission goals: minister

The UK's carbon emission targets could be at risk if the Hinkley C nuclear power project was canceled or delayed beyond its planned 2025 start date, the  country's energy and climate minister said on Tuesday.

The £18-billion project was announced by the UK government in October 2013, but its developer Electricite de France had stalled on making a final investment decision even as it looked for partners and financing.

"Any such delay could put at risk our decarbonization targets – one of the key reasons the Government is supporting Hinkley in the first place," Amber Rudd said in a letter responding to questions from a group of cross-party MPs dated 12 April and published on Tuesday.

The project, would provide around 7 per cent of the UK's energy needs, and replace the UK's ageing power plants. The plant was also important for the UK's goal of cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050.

According to Rudd, the government was confident that the project would go ahead but that it had "arrangements in place to ensure that any potential delay  or cancellation to the project does not pose a risk to security of supply."

Meanwhile, in a letter to The Guardian newspaper, Rudd said, ''The government's job is to ensure our families and businesses have energy supplies they can rely on. And we are doing it by taking the long-term decisions to ensure secure, clean, affordable supplies now and in the decades ahead. That's the key role for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and we've never said otherwise.

"The reason we are backing the construction of Hinkley Point C is that new nuclear is the only proven low-carbon technology that can provide continuous power, irrespective of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. We are tackling a legacy of underinvestment and need to replace our ageing power stations.

"Hinkley will power close to 6 million homes for 60 years. But we're only paying for 35. It will also bring billions of pounds of investment into the UK and create 25,000 jobs during construction. We need electricity that's safe, clean and reliable at any time of the day or night. New nuclear is one of the best ways of providing this. That's why we back Hinkley, and I have never said it's for any other reason.''