The Hinkley Point C nuclear powerplant could be further delayed until 2031 and cost £2.3bn more
In the latest update from EDF’s managing director Stuart Crooks, inflation, Brexit, and Covid-19 have been blamed as the main causes for the increased cost and delay of Hinkley Point C.
The nuclear plant was initially given the green light in 2016 and had an estimated cost of £18bn. It is the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain since 1995.
Alongside wind and solar energy, the plant will transition the UK away from imported fossil fuels, and will meet 7% of the country’s electricity demand.
Projected Hinkley Point C costs are calculated using 2015 prices
EDF has announced that the projected expense for the completion of Hinkley Point C currently ranges between £31bn and £34bn. In the event of a delay in the first reactor unit until 2031, the costs are expected to escalate to £35bn.
It’s important to note that the reported costs are based on 2015 prices, and when adjusted for today’s economic landscape, the total expenditure surges to an estimated £46bn, revealing a notable discrepancy in the figures provided by EDF.
EDF has assured the public that the extra spend will not affect the taxpayer.
Re-skilling the workforce was necessary for building the powerplant
Hinkley Point C’s managing director, Stuart Crooks, commented: “We’ve put the dome on two years later than planned in the schedule we started with.
“Around 15 months of that delay was due to the global pandemic.
“Restarting the British new nuclear industry has been hard. We’ve had to teach suppliers how to build nuclear, and, like any other developer, change our design to meet British regulations.”
This meant 7,000 design changes, 35% more steel and 25% more concrete.
Watch the full Hinkley Point C project update below.
