Hinkley cost soars to $59 billion

The two-reactor 3,260MW Hinkley Point C nuclear site still under construction in the UK is set to become the second most expensive building in the world as the new price tag soars to $59 billion, while the expected startup date is pushed out to “after 2029”. The original Hinkley budget was $23 billion. Its builder, French utility EDF, wants Britain to bear the additional cost burden, which will almost certainly be passed on to ratepayers. Electricity produced from Hinkley, if completed, will be “far above market price” say experts, and prices could continue to rise with inflation, illustrating how the nuclear power sector is “out of control economically,” says Beyond Nuclear’s Paul Gunter. British activists called Hinkley “a shambolic money pit”. EDF had boasted that Britons would be roasting their 2017 Christmas turkeys powered by Hinkley C. Instead, the only turkey, still undercooked, remains the nuclear project itself.

More