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Brexit could mean cancellation of Hinkley Point nuclear power station, Government adviser says

'It’s probably all over bar the shouting. How can EDF invest billions when there is so much uncertainty?'

Rachael Burnett
Tuesday 28 June 2016 09:56 BST
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An artist's impression of the proposed station on the Somerset Coast
An artist's impression of the proposed station on the Somerset Coast

The Hinkley Point nuclear power station project could become a casualty of Brexit, a Government adviser has claimed.

The £18bn plans to build the new plant in Somerset could be cancelled now that Britain has voted to leave the EU, a Government advisor told the The Times newspaper.

Paul Dorfman said it was "extremely unlikely" that French energy giant EDF would continue with its plans, which have already been hit by a series of delays.

Mr Dorfman, a senior research fellow at University College London, said: “My view is that it seems extremely unlikely now.

"It’s probably all over bar the shouting. How can EDF invest billions when there is so much uncertainty?"

Angus Brendan MacNeil MP, chairman of the Commons energy and climate select committee, said Hinkley was "bedevilled by uncertainty".

"Until last week ... EDF was investing in another EU member state. Now that is no longer the case," he said.

The plant was originally set to be completed by 2017 but will not generate power until at least 2025, after issues with funding and reported concern from French unions that the project could damage or even ruin EDF.

EDF has insisted Brexit will have no impact and told The Times: "EDF confirms its commitment to the Hinkley Point project, which continues."

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