YRM will design the new power station, which has been named Hinkley Point C.

In a statement to the Nuclear Development Forum last week, EDF Energy’s chief executive Vincent de Rivaz said the power station would “restart Britain’s nuclear construction industry after a gap of nearly 20 years”.

The project is expected to boost the local economy by £100 million per year during construction and £40 million per year during operation.

According to the EDF statement, the generic design assessment has been amended so that the lessons from the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan can be incorporated.

The IPC has 28 days to decide whether to accept of reject the application for the station.