New Timetable Will See Hinkley Point Decision In ‘Early Autumn’

29 Jul (NucNet): The UK government has agreed a new timetable with the French government for the Hinkley Point C project with a decision now expected during the autumn, press reports said. A spokesman for prime minister Theresa May said: “EDF made their announcement, and we have agreed a timetable with the French government, which means we will consider all the component parts of this project and make a decision in the early autumn.” The plan to build the £18bn (€21bn, $19bn) nuclear station was hit with an unexpected delay last night as the government decided to hold a new review hours after EDF, the project’s state-owned French developer, gave it the go-ahead. EDF’s approval is subject to approval from the UK and Chinese governments. China General Nuclear Power Generation, which is planning to take a 33.5% stake in the project to build two EPR units, said in a statement that it respects the new government’s need to familiarise itself with a project and “we stand ready to help the government in this respect”. Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the London-based Nuclear Industry Association, said today that the government’s decision to take longer to look at the contract does not change the fundamentals – that by 2030, two thirds of the UK’s electricity generation capacity will have retired and will need to be replaced with low-carbon and reliable power. “The most important thing is that the board of EDF and its investors have the finance in place to enable them to give the go ahead for the project and that is very good news,” he said. “We now need the new ministers to quickly endorse the decision to show they are serious about industrial strategy, building new infrastructure by securing inward investment to create our low-carbon energy supplies of the future.”