UK Prime Minister Theresa May has given the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station the go-ahead with "significant new safeguards" to make sure Chinese involvement does not threaten national security.
The controversial scheme in Somerset was approved on Thursday, six weeks after May unexpectedly placed the project under review, causing tensions with China.
It will be the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK in over 20 years.
The major plant is to be built by EDF, the French state company, with £6bn investment from China, without any changes to the original price tag.
But Molly Scott Cato, Greens/EFA group MEP for the region and long-time opponent of the project, was critical, telling this website, "When Theresa May called for a comprehensive review of Hinkley, it was hoped she would conclude that the project was economically illiterate, technically flawed, environmentally risky and a threat to security. This is what scientific, economic and environmental experts have been saying for years.
"But this is post-Brexit Britain, where the government turns its back on experts in the name of political expediency. Having insulted our European partners, the government believes it cannot afford to offend the Chinese.
"In a desperate attempt to demonstrate Brexit Britain is open for business, the government is engaged in a national kowtow exercise, handing over our energy infrastructure to the Chinese Communist party.
"This is the exact opposite of taking back control. Real control would come through a renewable energy revolution, providing cheaper and greener electricity, greater energy security and generating thousands more home grown jobs than nuclear power.
"Community owned renewables can also take power away from foreign corporations and governments and hand it back to the people; a path Germany and other countries are embarking on.
"The government says it will introduce greater scrutiny of future deals to protect national security, but not for this project. I simply can't understand why, if the current arrangements need to be changed, they are good enough for the people I represent in south west England.
"Effectively, consumers and businesses will pay the price for what the government is acknowledging is a massive error in our approach to the ownership and control of critical infrastructure. Also, we are told we will receive information about sale of the stake by EDF but not be able to prevent it. So the whole thing could end up belonging to the Chinese.
"As for Labour, they are still stuck in the nuclear bunker, willing to support a discredited scheme to keep British unions happy. Meanwhile, French unions, who have expressed serious doubts about the financial and technical viability of Hinkley, will be seriously worried by today's news."
However, the decision was welcomed by others, including Ian Maclean, UK managing director for energy and industry at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, who said, "This is the good news we've all been waiting for.
"After years of delays we can now look positively to the future, prepare our business and recruitment plans accordingly, and start filling the growing gap in our energy mix.
"However, this is just the beginning. We now need to start delivering not just on this one project but also other major nuclear projects (both big and small modular reactors) that are yet to get off the ground."
He added, "While this is a huge step forward in decarbonising our energy supply, we shouldn't ignore the widespread public demand for renewables, as recent polls have suggested.
"Hopefully this is a sign that the government intends to create a business climate that will encourage investors and developers alike to forge ahead with a new fleet of power plant that includes a mix of both renewable energy and nuclear power, as well as gas-fired power plants to provide cleaner and safer energy to UK plc."