As the British Government forges ahead with increasingly ambitious infrastructure projects, the Sustainable Eel Group would like to invite Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to take a step back and reflect on the delicate balance we all share with the natural world. Like the new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick and the proposed overhead pylons for the Lincolnshire countryside, the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point presents significant challenges, not only in terms of energy production but in preserving the health of our environment. There is evidence that the Severn Estuary, a rich, biodiverse landscape, faces an existential threat from the cooling system intended for the site.

The crux of the issue is the cooling system for the nuclear reactors, which is set to draw water from the Severn Estuary at an alarming rate of 125 cubic metres per second. This powerful water intake poses a direct threat to a number of migratory fish species, some of which are endangered, including the European eel. Given their comparatively small size and strength, juvenile glass eels fresh from their journey across the Atlantic are amongst the most vulnerable to being drawn into the energy system.

EDF Energy, the company behind the project, originally designed the power station to include an acoustic fish deterrent, a technology that deters fish. This device would have provided a vital safeguard for migrating eels, preventing the deaths of millions of individuals each year. However, EDF has now proposed removing the system from its plans, leaving migratory fish vulnerable to mass mortality. If this amendment to the original planning application is approved, projections suggest that up to 183 million fish could perish annually, compared to earlier estimates of less than 40 million. This would have considerable repercussions, not only for local biodiversity but for the entire marine ecosystem, with knock-on effects extending to the Irish Sea and beyond. The eel migration to Somerset, now seen as something to celebrate, could become a scene of horror which ecologists hope to prevent.

EDF has proposed a series of compensatory measures, including saltmarsh restoration, fish passage improvements, and the creation of new marine habitats such as kelp forests and oyster reefs. Whilst these efforts are valuable and may contribute to the broader health of the environment, they cannot replace the vital function of the estuary as a nursery and migratory route for species like the eel. Compounding these concerns is the rushed and poorly executed consultation process around these compensation measures, which risks alienating local people and undermining the social licence needed for effective environmental restoration projects. There are signs that communities are becoming anti-saltmarsh under pressure from EDF, who some suggest are working to stir up opposition so they can argue that communities are opposed to the Severn Vision project, designed to improve the region’s resilience to coastal squeeze.  Meaningful, thoughtful engagement with local communities is crucial if we are to develop lasting solutions that mitigate environmental, but also social and economic impacts.

In the current climate, where technologies like air cooling or the development of small modular nuclear reactors offer promising alternatives that could significantly reduce water usage and its associated impacts on marine life, the use of a direct cooling system is controversial enough. There are signs that this new power station could be considered antiquated in a few years’ time.  EDF should be leading the charge in adopting these sustainable technologies, as they have done in France, but instead they are focusing on cutting costs wherever they can, prioritising short-term profits over sustainability.

Were previous statements by Labour MPs to have been taken at face value, we might have been reassured that the new Starmer Administration would step in and block the proposed amendments to the strategy. Following the recent economic downturn, however, it seems that a new definition of growth has gained currency in Westminster, which pays little credence to environmental cost. In a recent statement for Mail Online, Prime Minister Keir Starmer made his views on Hinkley Point C plain:

There are countless examples of nimbys and zealots gumming up the legal system often for their own ideological blind spots to stop the government building the infrastructure the country needs. They know they have no chance of winning, they just want to drag it out in hopes that government or industry give up. They want to win for themselves, not for the country. It is fear of challenge which leads to the ridiculous spectacle of the £100m bat tunnel for HS2 or the proposal to install an ‘acoustic fish deterrent’ – 288 underwater speakers designed to scare fish away from Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. I wish I was joking.

Whilst he might use the claim to further his own questionable [and ill-informed] arguments, Starmer is right in saying that public opposition is no laughing matter. The Sustainable Eel Group is not alone in deciding that enough is enough. It is joining forces with fourteen other conservation organisations to urge the Secretary of State to intervene, and is spearheading a grassroots campaign to ensure the debate makes its way into parliament.  Signing our petition will get ecology on the agenda and ensure that at the very least EDF reinstates the acoustic fish deterrent and implements a comprehensive, evidence-based plan to mitigate the ecological impact of the cooling system.

Full list of contributors to the petition:

• The Rivers Trust
• Bristol Avon Rivers Trust
• Severn Rivers Trust
• West Wales Rivers Trust
• Angling Trust
• Atlantic Salmon Trust
• Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
• Institute of Fisheries Management
• Fisheries Management Scotland
• Afonydd Cymru
• River Action
• Wildlife and Countryside Link
• CPRE Bristol & Avon
• Somerset Eel Recovery Project