The Hinkley Point project consists of building two EPR-type reactors in Somerset, in the south-west of England.
The French energy group EDF announced on Thursday May 19 that the construction site for two new generation nuclear reactors (EPR) at Hinkley Point in England would experience a further delay of at least one year and additional costs of at least 3 billion pounds.
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“The start of electricity production for unit 1 is now scheduled for June 2027. The risk of postponing the delivery of the two units is assessed at 15 months, assuming the absence of a new pandemic and the additional effect of the war in Ukraine“, said the French group in a press release. EDF now estimates the cost of the project “between £25 and £26 billionof 2015, against 18 billion in 2016, when the British government gave the green light and the start of construction.
The delay is blamed on the two-year pandemic: “people, resources and the supply chain were stretched and their effectiveness was limited. In addition, the volume of studies and civil engineering works, and the cost of these works and in particular of maritime works, have increased“, explains the group. He adds that the next milestone will be the installation of the dome on unit 1 of the power plant, in the second quarter of 2023, against the end of 2022 previously.
Delays
This project was originally controversial, and in particular contested by the French trade unions for its cost and the financial risk for EDF. The French company specifies on Thursday that the additional costs will be “no effect on consumers in the UKdue to the type of contract.
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The EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) is a model of nuclear reactor that is more powerful and designed to be safer than previous generations. Three are complete, in Finland and China, and three are under construction, one in France and two at Hinkley Point. But the Finnish reactor (Olkiluoto-3) started in March 12 years late, and of the two Chinese EPRs commissioned in 2018 and 2019, one has been shut down since July 2021 for technical problems.
As for the French reactor, in Flamanville, the cumulative delays reach 11 years for fuel loading now scheduled for the 2nd quarter of 2023, and the cost has risen to 12.7 billion euros according to EDF’s estimate as of January 12, 2022 In 2006, this very powerful 1650 MW reactor was announced at 3.3 billion euros.