AN TAISCE HAS lost its legal challenge to the development of a nuclear power plant around 240km from the Irish coast.

The Court of Appeal of England and Wales ruled against the Irish body in a ruling related to the British government decision in March 2013 to develop the plant on the west coast of England at Hinkley Point.

Britain’s secretary of state for energy and climate change last year authorised the construction of a 3260 megawatt nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, known as ‘Hinkley Point C’.

In a statement to the House of Commons on his decision, Edward Davey said his authorisation for the project was guided by Britain’s ‘national policy statements’ which identified “a new generation of nuclear power stations” as a “key part of our future low-carbon energy mix” to tackle climate change while diversifying Britain’s energy supply.

Today, the appeals court also decided not to refer An Taisce’s case to the EU’s Court of Justice.

Speaking about today’s ruling, An Taisce’s natural environmental officer Andrew Jackson said, “We are studying the judgment with our legal team and considering our options.”

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