Britain's controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant project faces substantial fresh cost overruns and further delay, France's EDF power giant said Wednesday.

The company, part of a French-Chinese consortium awarded the two-reactor project in 2016 despite criticism from green groups and cost warnings from experts, warned that costs were "now estimated at between 21.5 and 22.5 billion pounds (24.4-25.5 billion euros/$26.8-28.1 billion)."

That equates to a rise of between 1.9 and 2.9 billion pounds over previous estimates.

The project has already been dogged by delay and cost hikes. Following a review, EDF warned two years ago of a �1.5 billion overrun and delays of up to 15 months.

EDF blamed the rising costs largely on difficult ground excavation conditions which required adaptations to ensure the plant meets UK regulations.

But it insisted the new estimation would not impact either consumers or British taxpayers.

A spokesperson for Britain's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy emphasised that point while adding that "the government negotiated a competitive deal on Hinkley Point C which ensures consumers won't pay a penny until the station generates electricity."

The spokesperson insisted that "lessons learned from Hinkley have the potential to reduce costs for future projects" as Britain looks to transition to a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

The Hinkley Point C project, built in the southwestern English county of Somerset, is supposed to provide seven percent of Britain's total power needs, according to the government.

But critics have focused on the proposed design, which uses a novel European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) system that has been beset by huge cost overruns and delays at sites in France and Finland.

They have also questioned an electricity price guarantee to EDF of �92.5 for every megawatt hour of power produced by Hinkley over the following 35 years, rising with inflation, regardless of falling energy prices.

Britain's National Audit Office (NAO) has also long criticised the scheme, saying the government has "locked consumers into a risky and expensive project with uncertain strategic and economic benefits".

The project, still scheduled to start producing electricity in 2025, has a projected operational lifetime of 60 years.

Heavily-indebted EDF, mainly owned by the French government, is funding around two-thirds of the cost and its Chinese partner the remainder.

Similar problems to those at Hinkley have also hit EDF's reactor project at Flamanville in western France, though the firm has successfully launched two reactors with Chinese partners in the Chinese city of Taishan.

jmi/pn/cw/bmm/rl

EDF - ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE

AREVA

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Russia to help Uganda develop nuclear energy
Moscow (AFP) Sept 18, 2019
Russia and Uganda have agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said Wednesday, as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa. Russia's state-owned companies have been at a key part of the strategy to bolster Moscow's presence on the continent. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's is seeking to use his country's uranium deposits to develop nuclear power. The agreement was signed on Tuesday by a Rosatom representative and Ugandan Ener ... read more