Britain's first new nuclear power station for a generation could be given the go-ahead today.

The board of French energy firm EDF is meeting later and is expected to give investment approval for the completion of a new plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

The plant will be located on the south-east coast in the Bristol Channel - 597kms from Dublin.

Hinkley Point C will power 5.8 million homes, create 25,000 jobs and cost stg£18bn (€21.3bn) to build.

The power station was originally meant to open next year but that has now slipped to 2025.

It will replace Hinkley Point B, which is due to be decomissioned next decade.

Kevin Coyne, from the union Unite, is one of those hoping Hinkley Point C will be signed off.

He said: "The go-ahead is desperately needed on a number of grounds - to help keep the lights on in Britain in the decades ahead and as a fulcrum for the creation of thousands of jobs and related economic activity in the West Country."

With many traditional power stations nearing the end of their lives, supporters say Hinkley Point C is a way of helping to provide energy security in the future.

However, opponents fear it is a bad deal for customers and taxpayers.