EDF intends to bring other investors into the Hinkley Point project in due course, but without reducing its stake in the project to below 50 per cent.
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“Hinkley Point C and successive nuclear projects will guarantee the United Kingdom the reliable, secure low-carbon electricity it needs in the future”, said EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz.
A leading City broker has called on investors to sell their shares in EDF, saying it has “long-term concerns” about the financial stresses on the French energy group from the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset. Together, the two reactors will provide about 7% of the UK’s electricity.
The Hinkley Point project has come under fire over its cost and the delays to investment decisions and the timetable for building. CGN will have two-thirds stake and Areva will have one-fifth stake. The agreement also included an option for them to build a Chinese “Hualong” reactor at Bradwell, which is also owned by EDF’s British subsidiary EDF Energy.
EDF takes a 66.5% stake in Hinkley with CGN taking 33.5%.
The EDF board has still yet to make its final investment decision on the project. It further noted that any investment from any country must comply with rigorous United Kingdom regulatory standards.
The Bradwell plant, unlike those at Hinkley or Sizewell, however, would have a Chinese-designed reactor, based on the Fangchenggang Qisha power station.
Bouygues TP/Laing O’Rourke is contracted for the principal civil work involved, while BAM Nuttal/Kier Infrastructure is set to provided earthworks for the project. Another firm, Caparo Industries, went into partial administration on Monday, threatening hundreds more jobs.
EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy on Sunday said his company is in final negotiations with its Chinese partners, but said he did not want to anticipate what would happen on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The state-run China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) will finance 6 billion pound of the sum, with EDF paying for the remainder, the statement said.
It is also thought that the closer links between China and the United Kingdom will lead to an exchange of nuclear know-how in a potentially lucrative trade deal.
The announcement was welcomed by industry. Good news for the United Kingdom and good news for customers, jobs, industries.
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The British government has placed nuclear energy front and center of its low-carbon energy policy, a sharp contrast to European Union powerhouse Germany’s pledge to phase out nuclear power following Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster. “Governments must act to ensure that markets support new investment in technologies such as nuclear; the United Kingdom is showing one way this can be achieved”.
