The boss of EDF says he is still confident about Hinkley Point C being built despite the UK government throwing the nuclear power plant into doubt by launching a fresh review.
Jean-Bernard Levy, the chief executive of EDF, said on Friday he had no doubt about the government’s support for the £18bn project.
The board of EDF approved Hinkley Point C by 10 votes to seven at a meeting on Thursday, but the UK government then announced it would conduct another review of the controversial project and announce its decision in the early autumn.
Greg Clark, the business, energy and industrial strategy secretary, said the government would “now consider carefully all the component parts of this project”.
However, Levy played down the delay. “There is no comment to make. The statement made by Mr Clark is perfectly clear,” he said. “I have no doubt about the support of the British government led by Mrs May.”
Nonetheless, Levy confirmed he had not been warned about the government’s review and only found out when he saw the announcement on the internet. EDF’s UK chief executive, Vincent De Rivaz, was expected in Somerset on Friday morning alongside senior company officials to give interviews about the project. The event was cancelled after the government’s unexpected intervention.
The Guardian understands that there would have been no review under the former government, led by David Cameron and with Amber Rudd as energy secretary, as a decision had already been made to sign off the project. Sources stressed that this response had come from the new prime minister, Theresa May, and her new ministerial team.
May’s joint chief of staff, Nick Timothy, criticised the project last year because of the funding it was receiving from China. China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) has taken a 33% stake in the project alongside EDF.
Timothy wrote on the ConservativeHome website in October 2015, that it was “baffling” that the government was allowing Chinese state firms to invest in sensitive infrastructure and that “rational concerns about national security are being swept to one side because of the desperate desire for Chinese trade and investment”.
He claimed security experts were worried the Chinese could build weaknesses into computer systems that would allow them to “shut down Britain’s energy production at will” and argued against giving a “hostile state” access to the UK’s critical infrastructure.
China has reiterated its commitment to Hinkley Point C despite the review and the fact a delegation had flown to the UK this week to sign contracts.
A CGN spokesman said: “We respect the new government’s need to familiarise itself with a project as important to the UK’s future energy security as Hinkley Point C and we stand ready to help the government in this respect. CGN remains committed to delivering this much-needed nuclear capacity with our strategic partners, EDF, and providing the UK with safe, reliable and sustainable energy.”
Ian Liddell-Grainger, the local Conservative MP for whose constituency includes the Hinkley Point nuclear power stations, added: “I am 100% sure this is going to happen, I am 100% sure it is going to be signed, and 100% sure that we will build it on time on budget.”
He argued that Rudd as energy secretary, as well as Andrea Leadsom, who was a minister of state in the department, had time to understand the project and be positive about it. Clark, he added, was only two weeks into his job, and the prime minister was considered in her manner.
“Knowing Theresa May, she is a formidably lady who makes up her own mind,” he added. “When you send her things she questions it, and it is always her who responds. That is how she ticks.”
But a Conservative pressure group on the left of the party said ministers should use this opportunity to back out. Ben Caldecott, associate fellow at Bright Blue, said: “The government should abandon Hinkley C – pursuing it in light of all the evidence of cost reductions in other technologies would be deeply irresponsible. We need a new Plan A.
“This must be focused on bringing forward sufficient renewables, electricity storage, and energy efficiency to more than close any gap left in the late 2020s by Hinkley not proceeding. This would be sensible, achievable and cheap.”
Shares in EDF rose more than 10% in France on Friday on the back of the delay and better-than-expected financial results. Trade union leaders in France have said Hinkley Point could financially ruin the company, which has net debts of more than €37bn (£31bn).
The government’s new review was met with fierce criticism from trade unions in the UK. The construction of Hinkley Point C is expected to create 25,000 jobs.
The GMB called the decision “bewildering and bonkers”. Justin Bowden, GMB national secretary for energy, said: “After years of procrastination, what is required is decisive action not dithering and more delay. This unnecessary hesitation is putting finance for the project in doubt and 25,000 new jobs at risk immediately after Brexit. It is a gross error of judgment and must be reversed.”
Barry Gardiner, the shadow energy secretary, said the decision for a review at the 11th hour “sends the most appalling message out to investors”.
He told the Guardian: “The government says we are open for business but it says to investors we will dally with you for 10 years, we will give an indicative contract and then after a final decision, when the chairman has been authorised to come and sign, you pull the plug and say we will take another three months.”
Gardiner pointed out that both May and Clarke had been in the cabinet that agreed to push ahead with the plans. He said that Labour had warned about the contract for years, but argued that the way it had been handled showed either that ministers had been incompetent or that it was a deliberate decision. And if it was deliberate, then that is staggering, an incredibly aggressive act,” he added.
He said Britain needed to retain relationships with European partners in a bid to retain single market access. “This is not a time to be making enemies, and particularly not of the French.”
The CBI said the government needed to show that Britain was open for business.
Josh Hardie, the CBI deputy director-general, said: “While it is understandable the government wants to get to grips with the details of the Hinkley contract, it must press ahead to finalise the deal as soon as possible.
“The UK is facing a major investment challenge to ensure a secure, low-carbon and affordable energy supply. It’s crucial that we see clear and timely decisions, and send a definite message that the UK is well and truly open for business.”
However, Simon Walker, the director-general of the Institute of Directors, said the delay by the new government was sensible.
“Considering the vast scale of this project, and the high price asked for the power generated, it is only sensible for Greg Clark to pause before making his decision,” he said. “The IoD is a firm supporter of building new nuclear plants to generate reliable, low-carbon energy, but the government is right to scrutinise the value of such long-term investments carefully.”
French energy unions reacted angrily to EDF giving the go-ahead for Hickley Point C, saying it was a political decision.
A joint union statement said the decision had been made “against the unanimous opinion of the staff representative and passed using force, an unusual step in the history of the company”.
EDF’s central committee is taking legal action in an attempt to suspend the company’s decision. A hearing is expected on 2 August. A second legal attempt will be considered by judges on 22 September.
“Such a project cannot be carried out or succeed against the will of the unions and staff,” said the union statement.
