The British government is considering holding a trump card in the $25 billion Hinkley Point C construction project, that would be built by Electricite de France.
Media reports say that British Energy and Business Minister Matthew Hancock in Parliament said that the government was considering taking a so-called “golden share” in the project.
A golden share amounts to a corporate trump card. It would likely be used to maintain consistency and high standards in the supply chain, should the Hinkley Point C power plant ever be sold, Penn Energy reported.
It could also be used to stop the sale of Hinkley Point C.
The pressure for and against the project is building internationally. While German law firm Beck Butner Held (BBH) is heading a challenge against the project, which also counts Austria and Luxembourg as opponents, Romania's Energy Minister Andrei Gerea has informed the European Commission, which is under new leadership, that various countries are seeking an on-going framework that would support “safe and sustainable new nuclear” power plant projects.
In the letter sent to EC Vice President Maros Sefcovic, Gerea says that his letter also represents the views of Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia.
Essentially, these countries are waiting to see how the decisions fall concerning Hinkley Point C before they move forward with their own nuclear power ambitions.
The challenges to the Hinkley Point C project are largely about financing. Austria contends that the price guarantee for electricity once the project is complete amounts to an illegal subsidy. German opposition centers on the use of public funds. “There are countries in the European Union that want to support nuclear power with tax money. We think that is absolutely out of the question,” said German Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
A spokesman from Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change said discussions about a “golden share,” were “on going.”