nuclear-news

China’s CGN Halts Funding for UK’s Hinkley Nuclear Plant

• EDF may have to fund completion of £32.7 billion plant alone
• Britain took over CGN’s stake in a similar project last year

By Francois De Beaupuy, December 14, 2023

China General Nuclear Power Corp. has halted funding for the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear station in a fresh sign of tension between London and Beijing.

CGN skipped several installments in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter. That means Electricite de France SA, which was building the £32.7 billion ($41 billion) plant with CGN, may have to pay for its completion alone, they said, asking not to be named,
because the information isn’t public.

The withdrawal of funding comes
after the UK took over CGN’s stake in a similar nuclear project in
Sizewell last year following concerns over national security. Back then,
the government didn’t rule out that it might intervene in other cases of
Chinese involvement in UK energy supply, arguing that it would need to
consider risks to security and energy independence.

CGN’s plan to build a
Chinese-designed atomic plant in Southeast England is also up in the air.
It’s unclear whether the funding halt is temporary or definite, some of
the people said, adding that the project will continue in any case. A
spokesperson for EDF declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg, and CGN
didn’t respond to a request for comment.

 Bloomberg 14th Dec 2023

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-13/hinkley-point-nuclear-plant-in-uk-stops-getting-funding-from-china-s-cgn

December 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, China, politics international