Government Guarantee pushes Hinkley Point C Closer to Construction
New Civil Engineer, Katherine Smale, Nov 2015
Excerpt from Government guarantee pushes Hinkley Point C closer to construction
The long awaited final green light for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has inched closer again after Chancellor George Osborne announced a $3bn guarantee for the project. Osborne said the government guarantee would be provided by Infrastructure UK.
His announcement comes just days after Hinkley Point C promoter EDF Energy pledged that the power station would be delivered on time and on budget despite the long wait for a final investment decision.
“The Chancellor’s approval of the infrastructure guarantee is a clear sign of the government’s commitment to Hinkley Point C,” said EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz last week. “The government’s determination to bring about a renewal of infrastructure and to attract inward investment to the UK are demonstrated by this good news.”
“It is further progress towards a final investment decision on a project which will provide reliable, affordable low carbon electricity for decades” Osborne was speaking during a visit to China. He said : “Britain was the home to the very first civil nuclear power stations in the world and I am determined that we now lead the way again.
A series of hurdles has already been negotiated by the Hinkley Point C project. The European commission approved the power plant’s state aid case in October 2014. The $3bn guarantee is covered by that approval with further amounts available should EDF meet certain conditions and subject to fuller government approvals.
The strike price for Hinkley point C – the price at which it will sell electricity to the National grid is $134.25/MWh fully indexed to the consumer price index. If a final investment decision is not taken on Sizewell C the strike price for Hinkley Point C will be $138.75/MWh.
