Hinkley Point C losing power as government delays decision on £18bn project

French utility giant EDF has reportedly given the go-ahead to its proposed £18 billion ($23.7 billion) Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station, to be built in southwest England, Kallanish Energy reports.

Hinkley Point C has suffered repeated delays and spiralling costs.

“The government will now consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in early Autumn”.

Contracts were scheduled to be signed on Friday – now a shadow hangs over the controversial deal.

If Mr Magnin had not resigned and had voted against Hinkley Point, the Hinkley Point project would have been approved with a 10-eight vote, or just one vote to spare.

Marie-Claude Hemming, head of external affairs for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, said EDF’s decision to back the project had ended years of uncertainty for the UK’s nuclear supply chain, and would “allow industry to move towards delivery of this vital project”. Josh Hardie, the business lobby’s deputy director-general, stressed that “action is needed on key infrastructure projects” such as Hinkley Point.

Image: Hinkley Point C project will generate 25,000 job opportunities during its construction.

By GCR Staff0 CommentsThe government’s announcement that it was to delay granting permission to build the UK’s first nuclear reactor for 21 years was greeted by a wide range of reactions among British commentators.

The delay to the nuclear power plant, which appears to have been ordered by the new Prime Minister, is in marked contrast to the careful political wooing of the French and Chinese governments by the previous administration.

The future of the first new nuclear power plant in a generation has been thrown into confusion after the Government delayed a decision until the autumn. The court decision is expected on September 22.

“Significant investment in nuclear, renewables, gas and shale is urgently required to meet the needs of businesses and consumers, following the planned shutdown of older and dirtier power plants”, said the British Chambers of Commerce.

Officials from China General Nuclear, a state-owned nuclear power company, were also expected to be at an event in Somerset.

Part of the market reaction may be echoing a sentiment of one board member who quit ahead of the vote saying that the project was risky. French unions say the project is too big and costly for EDF and jeopardises the survival of the company.

In the United Kingdom, the guaranteed electricity price of GBP92.50 a megawatt hour for the 35 years has been criticized. The UK’s National Audit Office estimated that future top-up payments for the plant would rise from £6.1bn to £29.7bn over the length of the contract.