A trade union represented on EDF's board has raised a set of last-minute doubts ahead of the company's final decision on whether to build the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset.
The CFE-CGC, a key manager-level union, last week drew up a list of 15 queries raising financial, legal and strategic concerns over whether EDF can afford the £18bn project. It also questioned whether EDF can deliver the project on time, given that similar projects are experiencing major delays.
The union asked EDF to identify "specifically" how it is planning to finance the proposed plant, which is expected to deliver up to seven per cent of the UK's energy needs. It also asked for a clearer indication of the expected impact on EDF's credit rating considering that the first financial returns won't come until at least 2025.
EDF's share price has almost halved in the last year as the utility has struggled to deal with lower electricity prices and increased competition in Europe. The company recently announced it is planning €700m worth of cut costs by 2018, and will cut five per cent of its staff over the next three years.
Questions were also raised about the quality of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology the company plans to use, pointing to major delays in the construction of plants using the technology in Flamanville in Normandy and Olkiluoto Island in Finland.
"Considering construction periods today are forecast to last between 10 and 15 years [...], how can EDF objectively commit to an estimated construction period of nine years?" one question asked.
Responding to the released list, Greenpeace's chief scientist, Doug Parr, said the three EDF reactors that already exist in Finland, France and China haven't even proved they can work.
"They use the same technology planned for Hinkley, but all three have faced severe delays and spiralling costs," he said in a statement. "EDF's managers and employees are completely bewildered as to what makes EDF and the British government so confident that they are willing to bet billions of pounds on fourth time lucky."
The UK government has repeatedly insisted that the Hinkley Point project will deliver a secure baseload energy supply for the UK at a fair price. The final decision on whether to go ahead with the Hinkley project could be taken at a board meeting tomorrow.
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