Hinkley Point C, the £23bn nuclear power station being built in Somerset, could face further delays and heightened costs due to challenges including the conflict in Ukraine.
The plant’s developer EDF has said it has launched a “new comprehensive review” of the project near Bridgwater, which is one of the largest building projects in Europe.
In January 2021 the energy giant announced the start of electricity generation at the site would be delayed by six months to June 2026, and previous cost estimates of £21.5bn to £22.5bn were revised up to between £22bn and £23bn. At the time, bosses at Hinkley Point C said no extra cost would be carried by the taxpayer.
In documents filed to the French Financial Markets Authority, EDF said a review was underway to update the costs and schedule estimates, due to difficulties the project had encountered “notably on civil performance and marine works.”
EDF said onsite social distancing measures taken to enable construction to continue during the pandemic had “impacted” productivity.
It added that progress on works to install water cooling tunnels below the Bristol Channel had been slowed. A legal challenge from environmental groups over a permit to dump dredged mud at a site in the Severn Estuary off Portishead was recently dismissed by a High Court judge.
The firm added construction faced an “increase in risks”, including in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Brexit, Covid, supply chain disruption and inflation. EDF said the review was expected to be finalised by summer 2022.
It comes as EDF is in talks with the Government to build a proposed £20bn nuclear plant in Suffolk, Sizewell C, which would replicate the design of Hinkley Point C.
MPs recently approved new laws to safeguard and help attract investment in future large-scale nuclear power projects.
The government has committed to putting nuclear at the heart of the UK’s future energy mix, along with wind and solar, as it seeks to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Hinkley Point C could help protect the UK from “volatile” wholesale gas prices during a visit to the plant earlier this year.
It is hoped when completed Hinkley Point C will be able to generate low-carbon electricity for six million homes over 60 years.
Full construction of the plant began in 2016. It was originally estimated the project would cost £18bn to build.
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