Plans to get the long-awaited Hinkley Point power plant off the ground have hit another unexpected delay after the government postponed a final decision on the £18bn project, despite the French energy company behind it voting to start work.
French firm EDF, which is financing most of the £18bn project in Somerset, approved the funding at a board meeting on Thursday.
However, the government then said it needed to review the project. Contracts were due to be signed on Friday.
Jean-Bernard Levy, EDF Group chief executive, said he remained confident the project would go ahead. “I have no doubt about the support of the British government led by Mrs May,” he said.
The plant, which would be the first in the UK to be built in 20 years, has been in the offing for quite some time but has been continuously delayed. Hinkley Point C will provide 7% of the UK’s electricity over its estimated 60-year lifespan and is scheduled to go online in 2025 – several years later than planned.
EDF’s final investment decision on the project has been delayed several times and a number of companies have already been working on the project, including the BYLOR joint venture of Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues, which has been working on the main £2bn civil engineering contract, while a Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey JV has been appointed preferred bidder on a £460m electrical package.
Costain is also designing and building a £200m water cooling system, while Laing O’Rourke has also been hired for construction of workers’ campus accommodation.
Mace, Turner & Townsend and Faithful & Gould have also all been appointed as preferred bidders on roles at the project.
Commenting on government’s desicion to delay the project, Nick Baveystock, director general at the Instititue of Engineers, said: “This delay is disappointing. Government is absolutely right to ensure value for money for the public and we recognise it would have been difficult to conduct a review before EDF’s approval, but now more than ever timely, transparent decision making is needed.
“The UK needs to been seen as a reliable partner for investors around the world and we cannot expect to retain confidence if we keep putting back vital decisions.”
