THE government's new Minister for Nuclear visited Hinkley Point C yesterday (Thursday, March 23) to see how construction work is progressing.

Andrew Bowie, who is the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, took on the ministerial role last month. 

Mr Bowie is responsible for new and existing nuclear power plants (including Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C in Suffolk) and nuclear protection and regulation.

He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here at Hinkley Point C. It is absolutely staggering to see the sheer scale of the operation here.

“This site has nine thousand workers, a hundred and fifty buses, fifty-four cranes -  some of the numbers involved are quite extraordinary.

“This one site here will in the future be powering seven per cent of the United Kingdom’s energy supply.

“That’s incredible and contributing so much toward our ambitions for energy security and our net zero aims. 

“This site is going to contributing more than just about anywhere else to make us the greenest, cleanest and cheapest electricity producer in Europe.

“That is so exciting and it’s been a fantastic visit to see the development here at Hinkley.”

Two new nuclear reactors are being built at Hinkley, which will provide zero-carbon electricity for around six million homes.

Construction began in March 2017, and the site is expected to start generating electricity in 2027.

The first nuclear reactor was delivered to Hinkley Point C last month.