The French government has made a donation to the British taxpayer to cover the prices of nuclear projects undertaken through energy company EDF in the UK, according to a French official.
The official told the Financial Times that Paris is advocating a “comprehensive solution” to the financial problems of the Sizewell C plant and the new Hinkley Point plant in Somerset.
It comes after French company EDF recently admitted that prices for the structure at Hinkley Point had risen to £10 billion, for a total of £35 billion. At the same time, the final touch of the site’s reactors is expected to be delayed by 4 years.
Earlier this week, the UK government pledged an additional £1. 3 billion investment for the structure of Sizewell C, a planned nuclear power plant in Sussex, owned by EDF and the government.
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Earlier this week, the UK government pledged an additional £1. 3 billion investment for the structure of Sizewell C, a planned nuclear power plant in Sussex, owned by EDF and the government.
British taxpayers have a stake in the plant after China General Nuclear divested China General Nuclear’s partial stake over protection concerns.
EDF and the UK government have said the plant will become a major source of decarbonized electricity supply for the UK, generating enough to power six million homes and providing some seven percent of the country’s electricity.
The Conservative government is investing heavily in nuclear power, with ambitions to produce up to a quarter of the country’s projected electricity demand by 2050.
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The move has divided opinion and drawn criticism from green groups.
Some experts say nuclear force will be necessary for countries to get rid of fossil fuels, but there are considerations about the abundant load and timeline of building giant nuclear reactors, as well as considerations about protection and nuclear waste.
Other clean energy, such as wind farms, can be built and come online much faster.
Stuart Crooks, managing director of Hinkley Point C said: “Like other infrastructure projects, we have found civil construction slower than we hoped and faced inflation, labour and material shortages — on top of Covid and Brexit disruption.”