Hinkley Point C: French energy minister questions future of EDF’s UK nuclear project over ‘colossal’ cost; Russia eyes entry to UK nuclear market
The influential French energy minister Segolene Royal has questioned whether state-controlled energy group EDF ought to proceed with its GBP 18bn (USD 26bn) Hinkley Point C nuclear-power plant in the UK, the Financial Times reported. Royal said the “colossal” sums involved lead her to question the long-delayed project’s effect on EDF’s balance sheet and to ask whether it ought to go ahead at all.
She added that she did not believe France’s nuclear sector would suffer as a result of withdrawing from Hinkley Point, although she conceded it could prove damaging to the government’s reputation, the item reported.
EDF, which is 85% owned by the French government, is building Hinkley Point with China-based partner CGN, the report noted. A final investment decision from France on the project is expected later this year, possibly in September, the report said.
No other French ministers have publicly expressed their scepticism about Hinkley Point, with some actively in favour, the item noted.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that in the event EDF’s current plans for Hinkley Point collapse, the Russian state-controlled nuclear company Rosatom might team up with France, and possibly a UK-based group such as Rolls-Royce, to enter the British nuclear sector with a reactor designed in Russia. According to Moscow-based sources cited in the report, Rosatom has recently held discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in London regarding the disposal of uranium from decommissioned reactors. The Russian company is believed to be hoping to expand this and revisit earlier proposals for the construction of reactors in the UK, the report said, quoting a senior Russian source from the nuclear sector. The source described a deal as “doable” from a technical point of view but with a “tiny” prospect of actually happening.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority confirmed discussions had taken place with Rosatom, the report said. A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) strongly denied any plans are under consideration which might involve UK nuclear reactors being built by Russia, the item reported. The senior Russian source said Rosatom officials in London are in touch with DECC contacts, the report stated.
Financial Times, The Guardian