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UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH MAY 2016 | 7 Interview L ife has changed considerably for Tom Greatrex over the course of the past year. He has gone from debat- ing the minutiae of government energy policy to sharing a conference hall with Stormtroopers. "It was science fiction meeting science fact," jokes the now chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA). Sharing the corridors of Birmingham's NEC with Star Wars characters camew a year aer he departed the corridors of power in Westminster having lost his Ruther- glen and Hamilton West constituency seat, and almost four months aer starting in his new role at the NIA. It could be argued that he has le the frying pan and leapt into the fire, because nuclear power is a hot, and oen controversial, topic. It is even more controversial right now with rumour and conjecture swirling around the question of when – and Greatrex is sure it's a when and not an if – Hinkley Point C will get the final go- ahead from EDF. Alongside this, the former Labour MP and shadow energy minister is eager to defend the industry he now represents by dismissing claims that it is destined to be an electric dinosaur. He is convinced it can intertwine with renewables and other generation technologies. But first, let's clear up how he ended up brushing shoulders with Wookies and Jedi. "I was at the NEC for the Big Bang Fair – a science fair for kids – just to see how it works, and at the same time there was a comic fair in one of the other halls!" With that out of the way, attention swily turns to the major nuclear issue: Hinkley Point C and the seemingly eternally delayed final investment decisions from EDF. Greatrex pulls up Utility Week straight away, say- ing the decision cannot be said to have been delayed because no date was ever set for the final investment decision in the first place. "There has been lots of speculation, but nothing has come from EDF about making the decision," he says. "It is a big, significant infrastructure project and EDF, as the developer, is taking on the construction risk, so they have to be confident they can deliver it. It's right they ensure their plans and preparations are fully formed before it goes ahead." French economy minister Emmanuel Macron told a French newspaper that a "decision could be confirmed next September" once EDF's financial situation had improved, a 60-day consultation with French trade unions had been completed, and if measures to ensure construction went according to plan. Greatrex also rubbishes claims that EDF is stalling over Hinkley Point C so that it can find an excuse to abandon the £18 billion project. "I went down to Hinkley Point the other week and a