British consumers could pay £17bn in potentially unnecessary subsidies to fund construction of the country\’s first new nuclear plant in a generation, the European Commission has said.

The EC said it was assessing whether the planned subsidies for Hinkley Point in Somerset – which could exceed the £16bn cost of the plant itself – were needed at all, or whether energy companies would build the plant anyway without a penny of public support.

Ministers in October signed a landmark deal with energy giant EDF to fund the construction of the plant, which would see consumers pay billions of pounds in subsidies to the French company for decades to come.

On Wednesday the Commission opened a formal investigation into \”whether the construction of a nuclear power station could not be achieved by market forces alone, without state intervention\”.

via Subsidies for UK nuclear plant could reach £17bn and ‘may be unnecessary’ – Telegraph.