EDF's financial struggle is increasing Hinkley C's woes

Our irony meters are off the scale this morning after reading The Telegraph’s report on the current woes affecting Hinkley C.

Emily Gosden reports on the financial stuggle EDF is having as it tries to raise the funds to pay for its minority stake in the project which is to be majority funded by China. This is ironic because EDF cite falling wholesale electricity prices for the cash shortage. Hinkley C would provide instant relief because our government, in a moment of half-wittery unprecedented even during the Brown years, have guaranteed EDF a generation price over twice the current wholesale rate for 35 years. Will there be anyone in government who sees a problem here?

EDF have made clear their intention to sell their stake once it is up and running and you can see why. That 35 year guaranteed cash stream will be extremely valuable and the decommissioning and clean up costs will be someone elses’ problem. Probably your grandchildren’s, actually.

Even if EDF can raise the cash to sign this off next month, Hinkley C isn’t due to start generating electricity until 2025, already eight years late. With battery technology advancing at such a lick, the issue of sporadic renewable output will no longer be an issue and Hinkley C will be irrelevant. Sadly the guaranteed payments to its Chinese and French owners won’t be.

Read more at The Telegraph.