The firm would not confirm a commissioning date for the £24.5 billion project, but at a recent press conference, chairman Jean-Bernard Lévy confirmed that it “will be updated at the point when is made”.
He added that, although FID has been pushed back from the initial forecasts, the construction time would remain the same – nine years. This would put the commissioning date at 2024.
RBC Capital analyst Martin Young said although Hinkley was a topic of conversation in the Q&A at the press conference, “no visibility was given on potential cost uplifts, although the possibility of a revised timetable was alluded to”.
In 2013, EDF said it expected Hinkley to begin generating electricity by 2023, subject to FID in July 2014.
However, in February, reports surfaced that the FID could be delayed to as late as October this year, due to negotiations between EDF and its Chinese project partner.
The firm told Utility Week all parties are working so that FID can be taken “as soon as possible”.
Yesterday, EDF insisted that problems with the construction of its Flamanville nuclear power plant in France will provide “invaluable learning” for other projects such as Hinkley.