Observer - Nuclear power overview

lifespans, raising the risk that Britain could enter the 2030s without
enough base-load power to meet surging demand from artificial intelligence
and a growing population. Part of the challenge, Chisholm claims, has been
Britain’s sclerotic attitude to getting things built. “It has become
harder to do business in this country,” he says, pointing to the example
of a 55,000-page development consent order (DCO) that was required to get
the go-ahead for EDF’s nuclear plant at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.Late
last year a review by John Fingleton, a former chief

executive of the
Office of Fair Trading, caused uproar by highlighting Hinkley’s £700m
programme for protecting local aquatic wildlife – including an acoustic
deterrent or “fish disco” – as an example of over-zealous regulation
holding back growth. “Of course, we want to take appropriate measures to
reduce harm to fish. But £700m? It’s just way too much,” Chisholm says.
“And the total amount of fish at stake is the equivalent to one trawler a
year,” But the project has faced numerous obstacles; running four to six
years late and 2.5 times over budget at an eye-watering, inflation-adjusted

cost of about £48bn. A former CEO of EDF, Henri Proglio, has described
Hinkley’s design – the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) – as
“terrifying” and “almost unbuildable”. EDF points out that EPRs
have been built and are operational in France, Finland and China. In 2017,
the National Audit Office released a report that found Hinkley Point C had
“locked consumers into a risky and expensive project with uncertain
strategic and economic benefits”, because of the government’s deal to pay
a guaranteed electricity price of roughly £127 per MWh, adjusted for
inflation. But Chisholm is adamant that the worst is behind. He admits that
“what it took to bring a fully capable supply chain back to life in the

cost of about £48bn. A former CEO of EDF, Henri Proglio, has described
Hinkley’s design – the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) – as
“terrifying” and “almost unbuildable”. EDF points out that EPRs
have been built and are operational in France, Finland and China. In 2017,
the National Audit Office released a report that found Hinkley Point C had
“locked consumers into a risky and expensive project with uncertain
strategic and economic benefits”, because of the government’s deal to pay
a guaranteed electricity price of roughly £127 per MWh, adjusted for
inflation. But Chisholm is adamant that the worst is behind. He admits that
“what it took to bring a fully capable supply chain back to life in the

UK was probably greater than the company at first estimated”, but also
says there is a “benefit from the fact that this has now been proven, and
we can replicate the design and bring down the costs”. What to do in the
interim? UK domestic electricity prices are now among the highest in
Europe, and it’s even worse for industry. Better battery storage and grid
flexibility will certainly be required. But Chisholm also argues that a
system reliant on nuclear and renewables will be less expensive than a
“renewables only” path. This

is due to “intermittency” – the
dependence of wind and solar power on favourable weather conditions. He
says that future renewable auction rounds by the government, after the most
recent in January, AR7, won’t have the same uptake. “I just don’t think
we’re going to need much more renewables capacity. There is an upper limit
on that. I don’t think we’re going to see another auction round on the
scale of AR7.”

Observer 22nd Feb 2026

https://observer.co.uk/news/business/article/delays-and-costs-shouldnt-dent-faith-in-uks-nuclear-plans-says-edf-uk-chair