EDF board to review Hinkley Point investment decision next week

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PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) - French utility EDF (Hanover: E2F.HA - news) called a board meeting for July 28 that will consider a final investment decision on its 18 billion pound ($24 billion) Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Britain, the company said on Thursday.

The project to build two next-generation EPR nuclear reactors has divided opinion in France at a time when EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) 's finances are severely stretched already by its absorption of loss-making nuclear plant builder Areva (LSE: 0P4A.L - news) .

The French government has repeatedly backed the project, which is crucial if France wants to maintain its expertise in atomic energy, but unions fear the investment is too risky, and could bring the company down.

In a statement, EDF said that if approved, the first concrete for the reactors, scheduled for mid-2019, would coincide perfectly with the start-up of its other EPR project in Flamanville, northern France, scheduled for the end of 2018.

The Flamanville project is years behind schedule and billions over budget already. But ensuring skilled nuclear engineers can move on to another project quickly is key for EDF to retain staff and know-how.

The two reactors in Somerset, southern England, are also a cornerstone of Britain's future power mix. They are expected to provide 7 percent of its electricity needs when completed.

"The two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point would strengthen EDF's presence in Britain, a country where its subsidiary EDF Energy already operates 15 nuclear reactors and is the largest electricity supplier by volume," EDF said. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis)