After France’s economy minister said the country’s energy giant EDF may not give it the green light until September, the decision on whether to go ahead with the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power project has been delayed again.

EDF would deliver its verdict on Hinkley Point which is set to meet 7% of the UK’s energy needs, in the coming week or month, Emmanuel Macron’s comments has said a week before he made his latest comment.

Having previously promised to come to and announce a decision by the time of its annual general meeting on 12 May, EDF had said just days ago that it was expecting to make a final decision in the summer.

The project will not meet its scheduled completion date of 2025, already eight years later than originally planned, indicated by the fresh delay which raises the prospect that even if the project does go ahead it would not be completed on time.

Before EDF, which is 85% government-owned, could proceed with building two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, three conditions must be in place, Macron told a French newspaper a few days ago.

To ensure construction goes according to plan, he cited an improvement in EDF’s financial position, consultation with French trade unions and unspecified measures.

“The final investment decision could be confirmed next September,” he said.

Hinkley Point has been at the centre of a controversy in the UK. There are fears that a series of delays suffered on similar EDF nuclear projects in Fance and Finland could be replicated and there are allegations that the project is too expensive.

French trade union officials who say the project threatens the company’s financial stability have been opposing the project and pressurizing EDF.

In a bid to shore up its finances ahead of the Hinkley decision, EDF has since approved a £3.1bn capital injection funded partly by the state.

Organisations such as Greenpeace, which last week said the project was an “utter mess”, is likely to restart its criticism of the project due to the fresh delay.

By cautioning that the project was doomed, Greenpeace’s director, John Sauven, responded to EDF’s previous announcement that a decision would not come until the summer.

“This may now be the sign that the entire project is coming to a grinding halt and the UK government urgently needs to back renewable energy as a more reliable alternative,” he said.

(Adapted from The Guardian)

Categories: Strategy