The French utility EDF has announced a delay and a rise in project cost for the 3.26 GW Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, located near Bridgwater in southern England (United Kingdom). The nuclear plant, which was expected to be completed in 2027 and cost up to GBP26bn (€30bn), is now expected to become operational in 2029-2030 at the earliest (in 2031 in the worst case scenario), with the overall cost revised to between GBP31bn (€36bn) to GBP34bn (€40bn) (up to GBP35bn or €41bn in the worst case scenario).
Construction of Hinkley Point C (composed of two EPR reactors of 1,630 MW each) began in December 2018, with Unit 1 of the plant originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025, before a first revision to 2027 in May 2022. EDF gave three scenarios, with the first being Unit 1 becoming operational in 2029, based on a target productivity for the electromechanical work. The second scenario assumes some risks in the electromechanical work and testing schedule, and plans for a 2030 start of operations. The third scenario envisages a further 12-month delay to 2031.
In addition, only one day before EDF’s announcement, The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced that it would invest a further GBP1.3bn (€1.5bn) of government funding for necessary infrastructure work on the 3.2 GW Sizewell C nuclear power plant, located in Suffolk, England. The investment is aimed to keep the project on schedule and keep down overall costs.
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