EDF delays decision on £18bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant

[bananas]

Source: Financial Times

The French energy group EDF has postponed giving final approval to the construction of a new £18bn nuclear power plant in Somerset as the board attempts to reassure unions and private investors about the deal.

People close to the company confirmed on Tuesday that the final investment decision to build a station at Hinkley Point would not be taken on Wednesday, as had been expected.

Two people with knowledge of the process told the Financial Times that the item had been taken off the agenda because of last-minute concerns expressed by some of the company’s most important backers.

One said: “There are apparently some serious concerns among the private investors about how this will be financed.”

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Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2f249254-c451-11e5-b3b1-7b2481276e45.html

[bananas]

1. EDF struggling to fund new Hinkley Point nuclear reactors

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/26/edf-struggling-to-fund-new-hinkley-point-nuclear-reactors

EDF struggling to fund new Hinkley Point nuclear reactors

Final decision on £18bn project delayed, despite backing by China’s state nuclear firm CGN

Rob Davies
Tuesday 26 January 2016 13.55 EST
Last modified on Tuesday 26 January 2016 19.40 EST

The UK’s first new nuclear power plants for decades face fresh delays amid reports that French energy giant EDF is unsure it can finance the £18bn project.

Directors were expected to meet this week to sign off on a plan to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

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While directors are due to discuss the issue at a board meeting on Wednesday, Les Echos reported, no decision will be made until the next board meeting, which will happen before final results are released on 15 February.

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A group of its own employee-shareholders have also urged EDF to ditch the Hinkley plan, saying it could put the company’s survival at risk.

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[kristopher]

2. That's a must read, thanks. Here is something Related

Solar & Wind Have Won Energy Technology Race, Says Germany
January 26th, 2016 by Giles Parkinson

Originally published on RenewEconomy.

The minister responsible for Germany’s ambitious Energiewende, or energy transition, from coal and nuclear to renewable energy says it is clear that solar and wind energy have won the technology race.

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“So far nobody else has supplied the industrial economy with secure and price-effective electricity from solar panels and wind turbines. I am confident we can succeed and that we will have a superior energy system.”

Germany created its renewable energy support scheme in 2000, and Baake says the purpose has been about testing technologies. And it is clear which technologies are the winners...

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...there are two clear winners, and they are wind and solar,” Baake said. “We have learned how to produce electricity with wind and large-scale solar at the same cost level as new coal or gas generators.

“The question about the Energiewende is not a question about technology anymore. We have them.

“It is not a question about costs, because these new technologies produce at same costs as the last ones (technologies). And, I should point out, they are much cheaper than nuclear.

“The question now is whether we will be able to reinvent the power system so it can operate efficiently at reasonable cost and security with growing penetration of wind and solar.

“We want this Energiewende to be economically efficient – not just an ecological success story, also an economic success story...

https://cleantechnica.com/2016/01/26/solar-wind-have-won-energy-technology-race-says-germany/

[FBaggins]

3. EDF Will Move Forward with Work on Hinkley Point C

French utility EDF told contractors to begin work on the Hinkley Point C project despite not finalizing financing.

EDF reportedly told contractors to start “unconstrained” spending on the project, meaning to move forward as if a final decision had been made, according to The Guardian. Work on the project was halted in April.

EDF was set to make a final financing decision Wednesday but pushed it back. China’s state nuclear firm CGN owns a 33.5 percent stake in the project, and EDF has said it wants to bring in other investors to bring its remaining share of Hinkley Point C down from 66.5 percent to 50 percent.

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2016/01/edf-will-move-forward-with-work-on-hinkley-point-c.html?hootPostID=f7cda9ad299aa18d13710ecb9902bb20