I have been covering the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project in the United Kingdom in numerous posts. As I have said before, there are so many different problems with this project that it serves as a great example of why nuclear energy may not be the best choice for powering our civilization.
The most recent developments in the saga were the final decision to sign the contract by the French utility EDF and the subsequent pause called in approval of the contract by the U.K. due to the new government resulting from the vote to leave the European Union.
The Chinese government has expressed serious concern over the possible cancellation of the project because they have a major investment in it. The new U.K. Prime Minister, Theresa May, who called for the suspension of the project wants to stay on good terms with the Chinese because China is a major trading partner for the U.K.
Many pundits and analysts are looking for hints as to whether or not the project will go forward. Here are several reasons that the Hinkley Point C supporters point to justify their confidence that the project may go forward.
As is the common practice, many government officials get replaced when the government changes in the U.K. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was no exception. There was a recent get acquainted session where the press was invited to meet with new senior U.K. government officials. Analysts say that if the new government was serious about cancelling the Hinkley Point C project, officials overseeing the energy sector would have been publicly critical of the project at the gathering. The fact that they were not indicates to some that the government intends to go forward with the project. On the other hand, perhaps the U.K. government has not yet made a decision and it would be premature to start criticizing the project before they had decided what they were going to do.
Analysts point out that EDF, the French owned company that was chosen to build the Hinkley Point C reactors has already spent three and a third billion dollars on preliminary work. They point out that if the U.K. government cancels the project, EDF could bring suit to have their initial investment repaid. On the other hand, although three and a third billion dollars is a lot of money, it is about one tenth of the estimated cost of completing the Hinkley Point C project. Ultimately, it might make more sense to pay out the three and a third billion now and not wind up wasting a lot more money in the long run.
One on the big stumbling blocks that has impeded the Hinkley Point C project is the fear of the security establishment that China could someday be an enemy of the U.K. They are afraid that it would be a bad idea to let a potential enemy have access to their nuclear infrastructure. Theresa May has just been to China to meet with Chinese leaders to discuss Hinkley Point C among other topics. Supporters of the project are hopeful that she received reassurances from the Chinese government that would soothe security concerns. However, at this point there is no way to know exactly what was said at the meetings. And even if May was reassured, there is no guarantee that the Chinese would keep their word in the long run.
EDF has just announced that a Welsh steelmaker has been selected to be the supplier of one hundred and thirty two million dollars worth of steel for the Hinkley Point C project. Supporters of the project have said that EDF would not make such an announcement unless they were confident that the project was going forward. On the other hand, perhaps EDF is just trying to put pressure on the U.K. government by making it more difficult for them to cancel the project because of public pressure around jobs and lucrative contracts for U.K. businesses.
As usual with Hinkley Point C, there is more smoke than light with respect to what is happening and what is going to happen. Stay tuned.
Artist's concept of Hinkley Point C:
