EDF: Hinkley Nuclear Plant Will Go Ahead

The boss of EDF Energy has told MPs the controversial new Hinkley nuclear plant "will go ahead" despite uncertainty remaining over the £18bn project.

Vincent de Rivaz made the announcement while reading a statement at the start of his evidence to the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee on the benefits of nuclear energy.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) came as a surprise, given comments only yesterday by a minister in the French government, which owns a majority stake in the EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) group, that a final investment decision would be made in May.

Mr de Rivaz said that it had been a "long road" to clear regulatory and other hurdles and he expected the final go-ahead to be made "soon" - in reference to economy minister Emmanuel Macron's remarks.

He refused to be drawn on an exact date but told MPs that EDF had invested £2.4bn in the project so far and continued to spend £55m a month.

He insisted every element was in place to start construction as the supply chain and commercial partners were ready to go.

"This project is absolutely critical and has the full support of the French government and the British government.

Everything is aligning at the moment - it is very positive", he said.

Hinkley would be the first nuclear power plant to be built in Britain in two decades.

EDF is financing two-thirds of the project - with help expected from the French state - with the rest coming from Chinese investment.

The Chinese input has proved controversial in some quarters on security grounds while the Government's commitment to a new nuclear mix within the UK's energy future has also drawn sharp criticism on environmental and cost grounds.

EDF insisted the project was on budget and it was the first time, for a nuclear power station, that the cost of decommissioning was being factored in.

The company said that a fund was being set up to collect contributions each year of the plant's lifetime.