Betting on the French will not keep Britains lights on

Posted: 27th May 2022

Betting on the French will not keep Britains lights on EDF’s latest Hinkley Point delay shows PM’s nuclear ambitions are divorced from reality. It is testament to the sheer incompetence of France’s state-backed utility EDF that Hinkley Point C has become Britain’s most radioactive construction project and it hasn’t even been built yet. In fact, one wonders if it ever will be at this rate after yet more delays and cost overruns. For critics of atomic energy, Hinkley Point is the gift that keeps on giving. For the rest of the country it remains laughably elusive. After repeated setbacks, Britain’s first new plant in three decades was already scheduled to be nine years overdue and £7bn over budget having been pushed back to 2026, while estimated build costs had rocketed to £23bn. And now? An announcement from EDF, snuck out at 10pm on last Thursday night, reveals that the project has been delayed by another year at best, and will cost a further £3bn.