The main reason for the delay has been worries over the financing of the project by EDF, which is 85% owned by the French government, with French trade unions warning it could ruin the company’s finances. The company will strengthen controls on costs to combat the fall.
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Shares in French power giant EDF were up more than 10 per cent this morning – but it wasn’t just investors rewarding its board for finally getting around to making a decision on the construction of the much-delayed Hinkley Point C.
EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy on Friday said at the company’s earnings announcement: “I don’t doubt the support from Theresa May’s British government”.
Almost 140,000 people have signed a Greenpeace petition asking the new government to drop Hinkley and power the United Kingdom with cutting edge technologies, like offshore wind, that can deliver consistent power, jobs and investment in the UK.
Why is the Government so keen on new nuclear plants as opposed to other power sources?
Fresh criticism is also expected of the Government’s promise to pay EDF £92.50 per megawatt hour of energy – more than twice existing wholesale electricity prices.
However, the Hinkley saga faced fresh delays after the UK Government last night announced it will review the deal before signing it off, with a decision now likely in “early autumn”.
“The Government will now consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn”.
Theresa May’s government has made a “bewildering and bonkers” decision to pull back on signing a deal to build Britain’s first new nuclear power station in 20 years, just a day after it was given approval and funding.
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark said the government needs time to “carefully consider” all the component parts of the project before formally committing to the pre-arranged 35-year subsidy deal, which would see United Kingdom taxpayers pay £92.50 per MWh for Hinkley’s electricity.
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said the PM and ministers in her new Cabinet needed time to examine the plans.
Once completed, Hinkley Point C will provide 7 percent of Britain’s electricity. The National Audit Office, which is responsible for certifying the accounts of all United Kingdom government departments, has said taxpayers could pay more than 30 billion pounds through a range of subsidies created to support the project.
Kate Hudson, general secretary for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, called on the Government to scrap the deal, saying: “The new power plant will saddle future generations with an astronomical environmental and economic debt”.
The Hinkley Point project is a cornerstone of Britain’s future energy policy.
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Critics of the project are concerned about damage to the environment and potential escalating costs.
