A green light on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project for Somerset, England, was thrown back into controversy on Thursday when the British government backed away from what had previously been assumed was full government support for the $27 billion build.
If built, Hinkley Point C is expected to supply Britain with 7 percent of its electricity, supplying millions of homes and businesses with reliable, carbon-free power, while also providing as many as 25,000 construction jobs.
After several delays based on financial concerns, the board of directors for Hinkley Point C's majority owner, Electricite de France (EDF), voted on Thursday to proceed with the project. It was expected that the British government would sign off on the deal and a contract signing ceremony was scheduled. This was to have included EDF Chief Executive Officer Vincent de Rivaz and officials from China General Nuclear (CGN), the company that had agreed to take on one third of the financing for a minority stake in the project in a deal that was to have provided CGN with an entry into the European market, since the follow up to Hinkley Point C is expected to be at least one other nuclear power plant, including a CGN majority-owned project.
EDF's long-awaited decision came with dissent from some unions, resistance from environmental groups and the British government's balking. The government said that they would decide later in the fall whether or not to approve the deal.
French labor unions voiced opposition to the deal, fearing that EDF was too fragile financially to absorb the expense of a huge European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) project, which many assume will include follow the path of EPR projects at Flammanville, France, and in Finland, which have been beset by delays and cost overruns. The Flammanville project was estimated to cost $3.69 billion in 2012 and is now estimated to cost $10.5 billion.
In turn, British union GMB went the other way, denouncing the government's delay as unnecessary and putting about 25,000 jobs at risk.
One EDF board member, helped stir more controversy by quitting his position. Gerard Magnin was one of six board members representing the French government, which is the majority owner of EDF, holding 85 percent of the company. Media sources quoted Magnin as saying he did not want to continue with a company that approved of a strategy that he didn't endorse.