Government officials moved to reassure Chinese and French investors yesterday that the troubled Hinkley Point C nuclear power station plan remained a viable project, despite requesting a six-month delay to review the £18bn infrastructure project.
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The plans have led to the resignation of an EDF board member who said they were financially risky, echoing the criticism of French unions which said the project jeopardises the survival of the company.
Lib Dem former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said the Prime Minister had raised objections to Hinkley Point when they were in cabinet together during the coalition.
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Britain and EDF first reached a broad commercial agreement on the Hinkley Point project in 2013 while the Chinese involvement was sealed two years later when London laid on a state visit for President Xi Jinping, created to cement a “Golden Era” between the two countries.
“But I think we have got a different prime minister with a different set of priorities and projects of this kind are going to be looked through a different filter”.
Mrs May’s joint chief of staff, Nick Timothy, made public his concerns about Chinese involvement in Britain’s…
It is thought there are also security concerns about the role of the Chinese state – which has a one third share in the project – investing in critical infrastructure in the UK.
The Hinkley Point reactor project, which would provide an estimated 7 percent of Britain’s electricity, has been widely criticized as overpriced, and that critique has gained traction as the British economy has teetered in the aftermath of the vote.
In 2013, the United Kingdom committed to pay a price more than twice the market level for the power generated by the plant over 35 years.
Any attempt to renegotiate the terms could strain ties between London and Paris, at a time when it is starting to renegotiate Britain’s exit from the EU.
He added: “The very good news is that we are ready”.
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But Vincent de Rivaz said in an open letter to staff, sending a message of “continuity and confidence”, that EDF is ready when the United Kingdom government is. The court decision is expected on September 22.
