EDF has delayed a final decision to approve what would be the UK's first nuclear power plant in decades, according to media reports.
The final decision on whether to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset was expected to be made at a board meeting on Wednesday.
However, French paper Les Echos and environmental group Greenpeace said the decision has now been delayed. The item was taken off the agenda due to last-minute concerns expressed by some of the firm's key backers, sources told the Financial Times.
The news follows reports in recent days of confusion on the board of the French energy group, after a key trade union published a list of challenges facing the financial and strategic viability of the nuclear plant. The CFE-CGC, a key manager-level union, asked EDF to identify "specifically" how it is planning to finance the £18bn plant and questioned whether EDF will be able to deliver the project by the completion date, currently set as 2025.
However, a spokeswomen for EDF told BusinessGreen that EDF had never set today as the date for the final decision to be made. "It is basically a lot of speculation around when it will be taken," she said.
A final decision has been on the table since October, after China's state nuclear firm CGN announced that it would take a one-third stake in the French-led project. The two companies will be the only investors, after the scheme - expected to be the most expensive power plant ever built - failed to attract others.
Speaking to French paper JDD last week, EDF's chief executive, Jean-Bernard Lévy, said the company has taken the time needed to prepare for the construction of the two reactors and the project is now ready for a final investment decision to be taken. He added that the company expected to be able to bring in other investors after construction has begun.
The next possible date for a decision could be February 16, at the next meeting of the board.
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