The Department for Energy and Climate Change has announced a new benefit scheme which could see communities around eight different sites in England and Wales receive benefits worth up to £1000/MW over 40 years from when the nuclear power stations begin operating. The packages are separate from any investment in the local communities that the energy companies have promised and also from agreements between developers and communities under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act which include substantial mitigations during construction.
Michael Fallon, the Energy minister who launched the package, said: "This package is in the interests of local people, who will manage it to ensure long-term meaningful benefit to the community. It's proportionate to the scale and lifespan of new nuclear power stations and it builds on the major economic benefits they will bring in terms of jobs, investment and use of local services."
One package for the communities near the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset is worth £140 million and will last for 40 years, the planned lifetime of the plant. The package will be shared between Somerset County and West Somerset Council, but they will give some of the money to Sedgemoor Council.
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