A staggering £700 million spent on fish protection measures at the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will yield shockingly minimal results, saving approximately one salmon every twelve years and one trout every three decades, a bombshell government-commissioned report has revealed.
An Eyewatering Price Tag for Minimal Gain
The report from the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce details the exorbitant cost of environmental regulations, which it states make Britain the most expensive country in the world to build nuclear projects. These costs are ultimately passed on to consumers through higher energy bills.
Despite the £700 million investment—equating to roughly £280,000 per fish saved—the schemes will preserve just 0.083 salmon, 0.028 sea trout, and 6 river lamprey per year. Among the most controversial measures is a £50 million ‘acoustic fish deterrent’, colloquially dubbed a ‘fish disco’, which uses sound to repel fish from the plant’s cooling system.
The taskforce slammed the disproportionate costs, stating, ‘Each additional layer of complexity added to a design results in a more expensive plant. This is bad for our energy security, bad for the environment, and bad for the consumer.’ The report specifically singled out bodies like Natural England and the Environment Agency for imposing these costly design changes.
The Ripple Effect on UK Energy and Consumers
The colossal £46 billion Hinkley Point C project, set to open in 2031, will feature more fish protection measures than any other power station in the world. The £700 million cost for these schemes alone would translate to an increase of around £24 per family if divided equally among all UK households.
Critics were swift to condemn the expenditure. Sam Richards of the campaign group Britain Remade stated, ‘At a time when Britain’s electricity bills are among the world’s highest, our regulatory system forced EDF to spend nearly £280,000 per fish protected.’
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, added a sharper critique, arguing that ‘it's currently fish or newts or bats [that] have superior rights, frankly, to many humans in this country.’
A Call for a Radical Regulatory Overhaul
In response to these findings, the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce is pushing for a ‘radical’ overhaul of nuclear regulation in the UK. Its recommendations aim to speed up projects and reduce costs for consumers.
The 47 proposals include creating a new ‘one-stop shop’ commission with the power to overrule individual regulators on contentious decisions. Another suggestion is that developers could pay into a nature restoration fund instead of addressing individual environmental concerns.
Furthermore, the taskforce recommends rewriting planning rules to allow reactors to be built in ‘semi-urban’ locations, moving away from the current practice of confining them to remote areas.
Taskforce chairman John Fingleton called this a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’, citing problems ‘rooted in unnecessary complexity and a mindset that favours process over outcome.’ The Chancellor is expected to respond to the report in the upcoming Budget.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband commented, ‘This Government is delivering a golden age of new nuclear... A crucial part of that is delivering the reforms we need to drive forward new nuclear in a safe, affordable way.’ The Hinkley Point C station, first proposed in 1982 and finally approved in 2022, is projected to generate about 7% of the UK’s electricity in the 2030s.
