Nuclear Reactors 394 - New Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Calls For Review Of Hinkley Point C Project On Eve Of Contract Signing
I have often blogged before about the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project in Britain. It is like a soap opera or a slow train wreck. The deal, which may cost over thirty billion dollars has been in the works for ten years for EDF, a French-owned utility company, to build two nuclear reactors at the Hinkley Point power plant.
A lack of investors forced EDF to approach the Chinese government for backing for the project. China insisted as part of the deal that they be allowed to build a Chinese design reactor in Britain with Chinese workers. There were complaints about non-European Union countries being involved in the project. U.K. national security officials complained about China having access to Britain's nuclear infrastructure. U.K. unions complained about Chinese workers who would build the Chinese reactor.
Austria took the U.K. to court over price guarantees for the output of the plant because there are European Union rules against governments subsidizing businesses.
Financial and technical problems have plagued EDF and prevented it from signing the final contracts for months. Members of the board of EDF have resigned saying that they could not sign off on such a big project because of the financial instability of EDF. The French government moved in with guarantees of billions of dollars of support to help EDF. In July, EDF was finally ready to go ahead with the project when the Brexit vote happened in the U.K. and they got a new government.
One of the first actions of the new government was a decision to review the whole Hinkley Point C project. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the U.K. was a very strong supporter of nuclear power for the U.K. in general and the Hinkley Point C project in particular. New governments often reconsider and cancel projects championed by old governments, especially if there are strong ideological differences between the two such as is the case with the new U.K. government and Cameron's administration.
The timing could not be worse for the Hinkley Point C project. After all the problems and delays, all the complaints and opposition, just when it looked like the project contract was finally going to be approved years after it was first broadly agreed to in 2013, it was derailed by the Brexit vote which came out of the blue just at the wrong time.
Theresa May is the new Prime Minister of the U.K. Upon assuming office after the Brexit, she called for a review of the Hinkley Point C project on the grounds that Chinese investment was a potential threat to national security. She personally intervened just before the final contracts were going to be signed between the U.K. and EDF.
May's action on Hinkley Point C raises international concerns that Britain's position on various international infrastructure contracts, energy supply contracts and foreign investment in general might change substantially from policies of the former U.K administration. While May's administration may claim that it is dedicated to fostering international trade and allying fears of a U.K. retreat from previous positions on trade, her actions in halting the finalization of Hinkley Point C have definitely ruffled the feathers of France and China, two of the U.K. major international trading partners.
The Hinkley Point C project Chas had so many problems and opponents that it may never go forward. This would probably be best for the U.K. The massive amount of money slated for Hinkley Point C would be better spent on alternative sustainable energy sources.
Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom:
