EDF cannot give a definitive time for when the French utility will make an investment decision regarding the Hinkley C nuclear project in Britain, EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz told British lawmakers on Tuesday. De Rivaz told members of parliament’s energy and climate change committee some of the company’s trade union members had suggested the project should be delayed by 2-3 years. The final decision would be taken once a consultation by the company’s central works council had taken place. That consultation began on May 2 and will at least 60 days, de Rivaz said, but would not say how long it could last. Britain’s minister of state at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Andrea Leadsom, was also called before the committee. She said the government had not given EDF a deadline to take a financial decision on the project and remained “fully confident” the project would go ahead. De Rivaz said EDF still hopes the project will start power generation in 2025, but said an update on timings would be provided after the investment decision had been taken. The company said this month it would take 115 months to build once the decision is made. Separately, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told the British lawmakers in a letter that French authorities remained fully behind the project and he had every confidence a final investment decision could be made rapidly after the central works committee consultation.
Reuters 24th May 2016 read more »
Letter from French Economy Minister to Select Committee.
Parliament 24th May 2016 read more »
The chief executive of French energy giant EDF said the company “can’t afford to keep the UK waiting” and hinted a decision regarding the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Britain could be reached before the summer. Vincent de Rivaz appeared before the Energy and Climate Change Committee alongside Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, EDF’s managing director, Nuclear New build. Asked if it was conceivable that a final decision on Hinkley could be taken before France’s August holiday, Vincent de Rivaz first said he wanted a final decision to be taken “the sooner, the better – and that is part of the ‘sooner scenario’.”
Independent 24th May 2016 read more »
The French economy minister has written to British MPs to reassure them that France remains “fully behind” controversial plans for an £18bn nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. Emmanuel Macron said that he had every confidence that a final investment decision would be made “rapidly” after a consultation with the central works committee of EDF — the French state-backed company building the plant — leading to a “very fruitful collaboration” between the two countries. However, Vincent de Rivaz, the UK chief executive of EDF refused to guarantee that the project would be delivered by its anticipated date of 2025.
FT 24th May 2016 read more »
Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has today (24 May) underlined the Government’s prioritisation of nuclear energy, insisting it remains in “pole position” to drive down Britain’s emissions, ahead of other technologies due to its comparatively low-cost to the UK taxpayer. Speaking to the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) during a hearing on the delays to the new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, Leadsom said new nuclear provides “more value for consumers”, highlighting that Contract for Different (CfD) rates would be considerably lower than development prices for current offshore wind and tidal projects. When asked about the Government’s preference for nuclear technology over renewables, the Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: “There’s different reasons in each technology. A number of the technologies would be very much more expensive in CfD terms than new nuclear. “We’ve got to look at the value for consumers – that’s absolutely vital. We also have to look at the dispatchability. For example, hydroelectricity are just as dispatchable, but more expensive.”
Edie 24th May 2016 read more »
The UK has set no deadline for the final go-ahead to the much-delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, energy minister Andrea Leadsom told a committee of MPs on Tuesday. The head of the company aiming to build the new reactors, French state-owned EDF, told the same hearing he could not give a date for the decision nor confirm that it would start generating electricity in 2025, as previously pledged. Leadsom, who is campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, said earlier in May: “Being a member of the EU could scupper the [Hinkley] deal because of the state aid challenge from Austria.” However, she told the MPs on Tuesday she did not think Britain’s membership of the EU had any bearing on the Hinkley C project, saying the Austrian challenge had no merit and she had been incompletely quoted.
Guardian 24th May 2016 read more »
Daly Mail 24th May 2016 read more »
Telegraph 24th May 2016 read more »
ITV 24th May 2016 read more »
THE chief executive of French energy giant EDF has expressed confidence that the multibillion-pound Hinkley Point nuclear power station will go-ahead – despite a fresh delay in making a final investment decision. Vincent de Rivaz told MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee that money was in place and no project had been better prepared. But the company had decided to consult French trade unions after some of them called for a delay of two to three years. This is because of concerns over the impact of the firm’s finances on pressing ahead with the development in Somerset.
Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News 24th May 2016 read more »
EDF skirted around committing to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset being finished by 2025. “At moment of final investment decision (FID) we will confirm date,” Vincent de Rivaz, the French utility giant’s UK boss, said in response to whether the nuclear power plant will be completed on time. He’d also said that the FID would be taken once a non-binding consultation with the French unions had taken place. The unions want Hinkley to be delayed by two to three years, amid concerns over its impact on EDF’s balance sheet.
City AM 24th May 2016 read more »
MPs have been promised the sister project of a proposed third nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast will go ahead despite a fresh delay in making a final investment decision. EDF’s chief executive assured the government that money was in place for Hinkley Point C, and that “no project had been better prepared” – but he meanwhile remains locked in talks with French trade unions over the impact of the firm’s finances on pressing ahead with the development in Somerset. Vincent de Rivaz, head of the French energy giant, told the Energy and Climate Change Committee he was confident the Hinkley Point nuclear power station will go ahead – paving the way for the £16 billion Suffolk project.
East Anglian Daily Times 24th May 2016 read more »