The South West And The Enormous Business Potential Of Hinkley C Power Station

With the recent news that the government intends to underwrite investment in the new Hinkley C nuclear power station on the Somerset coast, business leaders in the area are already banging the drum about the wide ranging business opportunities that the development will bring.

Tim Jones, chairman of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, said it presented "enormous opportunities", and he talked of how companies in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset could benefit.

"It's bigger than the Olympics - a £14bn programme - and 80% of that cost is in the 'civils' contract, so it's not specialist nuclear activity," he said. "In there is a great opportunity for local businesses in Plymouth, across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset to get involved in it as part of the supply chain. There's also a great opportunity during the construction of the facility - there's a requirement for 6,000 workers over a 10-year period."

In March Energy Secretary Ed Davey gave the necessary consent for French energy giant EDF to construct Hinkley Point C. Whichever way you look at it, it is an undertaking of considerable magnitude, being capable of powering five million homes.

Mr Jones said the South West was privileged to have such a project on its doorstep, adding that "pretty good number crunching" had shown the benefit to the economy would be about £5bn. He  cited the wide range of firms that were "well suited" to become contractors, as well as strong links with the Royal Navy and keen interest from local colleges and universities. He felt that the embroyonic Hinkley C gave the South West an opportunity to develop a "nuclear skills academy".

"We're going to be building at least another six nuclear power stations - unless there's a very big change in government policy," he said. So setting up an academy, recognising that the far South West has that skill set and ensuring we build off the nuclear opportunity that Hinkley brings us, is something that I think could put us on the national stage very quickly.”

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