EDF delay Hinckley decision until the autumn.

France's economy minister has confirmed that the government supports French energy company EDF's nuclear power plant project at Hinkley Point. On Friday, the French government announced that it would plough €3bn into the energy provider, as part of a €4bn capital increase. Emmanuel Macron told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper yesterday, that the final investment decision could be announced by September 2016. The decision was expected in May; however, EDF, which is 85% owned by the French government, decided on Friday to take more time to consult with the company's unions. Some of them expressing concerns about the financing the €24b project. Macron insisted the project must not be further delayed.

France's EDF to decide on UK nuclear project in September



by Staff Writers



Paris (AFP) April 24, 2016



France's energy giant EDF will give the final green light to the controversial construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Britain in September, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

French President Francois Hollande "has confirmed France's engagement" in the project, and "the final decision on investment could be confirmed in September", Macron said in an interview with weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

The final investment decision had been expected in May, but EDF, which is 85 percent owned by the French state, announced a delay on Friday saying it first had to consult with an internal committee as demanded by France's unions. This could set the project back for several months.

"The investment in the two reactors at Hinkley Point will be equivalent to a year of investments by EDF. This won't shake its financial trajectory," Macron added, denying rumours France could pull out of the project.

Macron added that the project would promote French technology in the face of American, Chinese and Russian competition.

Hinkley Point, which EDF is to build in partnership with China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), will be Britain's first nuclear power plant in decades and is to provide seven percent of its energy needs by 2025.

With a projected cost of PND 18 billion ($26 billion, 23 billion euros), it will also be one of the world's most expensive nuclear power plants.

Questions have been raised about the financial viability of the project as EDF is struggling with a debt pile of more than 37 billion euros ($42 billion).

On Friday, the French government announced that it would plough three billion euros ($3.4 bn) into the energy provider, as part of a four-billion-euro capital increase.