More than 182 million fish could be killed or injured every year for 60 years by the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset, if the energy company EDF are allowed to change the terms of the 2013 planning consent granted for them to build the plant.
As part of the original planning permission, EDF were required to install an Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD) to reduce fish entering pipes that will draw in millions of litres of water to help cool the nuclear plant at a rate equivalent to the volume of three Olympic sized swimming pools every minute for 60 years.
The devices, which are already successfully used elsewhere in the UK and around the world, are designed to prevent fish being drawn into the pipework where they would be killed or injured. This includes migrating fish who travel up and down the estuary to spawn in freshwater rivers.
EDF have already attempted to have the AFD requirement removed from their original planning consent in 2022, but this was dismissed by the then Secretary of State.
The council understands that EDF will make another application to the Secretary of State to remove the requirement for an AFD in the new year, and so has written to the Secretary of State for Energy, Security & Net Zero, the Rt Hon Ed Milliband, requesting that he upholds the existing requirement to install an AFD.
Councillors Maggie Tyrrell and Ian Boulton, said in their letter to the Secretary of State: “We are writing to express our gravest concern regarding the scale of impact on the migratory fish populations of the Severn Estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which will result from the massive water abstraction at Hinkley Point C of 120,000 litres of seawater a second for 60 years once the power station is operational.
“This impact would be made significantly worse by the proposed application for a change to the 2013 Development Consent Order to remove the required Acoustic Fish Deterrent (AFD).
“A Welsh Government report on the AFD cites evidence that removal of the AFD would capture at least 182 million fish per year, a significant proportion of which would be killed. Put simply, removing the AFD would cause critical levels of wildlife destruction.”
The council is also concerned that EDF are approaching local landowners about a plan to create new salt marshes, which they would propose as alternative compensation habitat for fish in place of the AFD. It is understood that local landowners are deeply concerned about the idea, which has been turned down in other areas when raised by EDF, and experts query EDFs claims that new saltmarshes would offer suitable habitat for fish killed by the water intake of the new power station.
The council’s letter also highlighted that even with the AFD, that compensation will still be needed as some fish will still be drawn into the intake and killed. Alongside the letter, the Secretary of State was also provided with information about priorities to deliver improvements for fish passage in the Bristol Avon river and Coastal Catchments.
The letter underlines the council’s commitment to taking action to protect and restore nature:
“We fully support and are actively playing our part in delivering Net Zero objectives, however we cannot stand by and let this be at the expense of nature.
“Sacrificing the healthy ecology of our rivers and oceans would be counterproductive to our wider economy, society, and resilience to the local impacts of a changing climate. We are sure that government will join us in wanting to ensure that local and national objectives for Net Zero are delivered whilst also safeguarding our natural resources for future generations.”
A copy of the letter sent to the Secretary of State is available here: http://sites.southglos.gov.uk/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/10/Secretary-of-State-for-Energy-Security.pdf
Alongside the letter, the Secretary of State was also provided with supporting information including a summary paper of Bristol Avon & Coastal Catchment Priorities and Opportunities drawn from the www.bristolavoncatchment.co.uk/bristol-avon-fish-recovery-strategy
The water inflow pipes for Hinkley Point C are expected to draw in120,000 litres per second. This equals 7,200,000 litres per minute. An Olympic-sized swimming pool has a volume of 2,500,000 litres, so the expected volume of water being drawn into the pipes of the operational Hinkley C power station is equal to approximately three Olympic-sized swimming pools. https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/olympics/olympic-swimming-pool-dimensions
