I recently posted articles about the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in the U.K. It is a very complex and confusion situation with respect to technology, politics, costs, investors, environment, labor and other issues. I am returning to the Hinkley Point C project for today's post because of some breaking news.
EDF, the French state-owned utility, has announced that the project will be delayed. The two new reactors to be built at the Hinkley Point Power Station were supposed to be operational in 2023. Now EDF says that the two new reactors will not start generating power in 2023. The schedule has been pushed back four times already because of concerns over the safety of the design of the new European Pressurized Reactors (ERP). The ERPs will not be ready for construction until 2018 said EDF. They say that they will announce a new timetable for the new reactors once they have finalized investment plans.
EDF has had problems finding enough investors to back the Hinkley Point C project. They have also had problems because of challenges by Austria over U.K. state support of the project and questions about investment from outside the European Union. been counting on the Chinese government to invest in the Hinkley Point C project. Areva, the company that is slated to build the new U.K. reactors, has been unable to provide the small percentage of the cost it agreed to for the project because of major problems with the construction of some reactors in France. The U.K. government is pressing potential investors to make a decision on Hinkley Point as quickly as possible in the light of potential blackouts in the U.K. if new sources of power are not brought online in the near future.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has stated that the projected costs for nuclear power in the U.K. is the highest in the world. They say that the cost of a nuclear plant located in Britain is estimated to be almost three times the cost of a similar plant built in China or South Korea. While it can be difficult to compare costs of nuclear power projects in different countries, it is obvious that the U.K. cost will be much higher than the cost in China. One reason is the fact that China is planning on building dozens of new nuclear reactors in the near future and this will allow economies of scale to come into play for components. In addition, the nuclear plants in China will be built by state-owned enterprises which gives the builders access to loans at low or even zero interest rates.
It has been suggested by some in the U.K. that the U.K. government should "take back" the nuclear industry by renationalization of the twelve new nuclear power plants that are being planned. The construction and operation could be outsourced to private companies.
As I have stated before, the Hinkley Point C project may never become operational. I predict that it will eventually be abandoned after billions of dollars have been spent.
Hinkley Point C artist's concept:
