EDF adds £1.5 billion to cost of Hinkley Point C

• 7 years ago (2017-07-04)
• David Flin

Europe 1068 Nuclear 643

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EDF has estimated that the cost of completing the new Hinkley Point nuclear plant will be nearly 10 per cent more than it had expected. The company, which is the project’s main backer, said that the total cost will rise by £1.5 billion to £19.6 billion.

EDF also said that the project will be delayed by a further 15 months. It said that this would result in an extra £700 million in costs, but that it hoped it would be able to avoid further delays and be able to finish the first reactor by the end of 2025.

EDF is funding two-thirds of the plant, with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) investing the rest.

A government spokeswoman said that the cost of building Hinkley Point, including any cost overruns, will be met by EDF and the other backers. EDF said that it was on track to meet the project’s first major milestone in 2019, but that further delays could arise later in the project.

Last month, the UK’s National Audit Office described the plant as “risky and expensive”. It said that the Government had: “Increasingly emphasised Hinkley Point C’s unquantified strategic benefits, but has little control over these and no plan yet to realise them.”