After completely squeezing China out of nuclear power projects, the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the UK is now facing a crisis of failure.
According to the global network, on the 23rd, EDF announced that under the influence of inflation, labor shortages and other factors, the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the United Kingdom has been postponed again, and the cost has soared from the previous estimate of 35 billion pounds to 46 billion pounds, and the earliest completion date of the first reactor has been postponed to 2029, and if the situation cannot be improved, it is likely to be further postponed to 2031.
Nuclear power plant under construction
Originally, there was nothing worthy of attention about the failure of the British nuclear power plant, but the British media "Financial Times" mentioned a rather brazen remark, claiming that "the China General Nuclear Power Group, which has already settled its share of the contract, refuses to pay for the overrun of the nuclear power plant" -- this sentence translates to mean that Chinese enterprises should continue to pay for the construction of the British nuclear power plant? It is simply unheard of for the British media to say such a brazen remark with a shy face.
In 2015, CGN and EDF jointly built the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, with an initial investment of £18 billion, with Chinese companies holding 33.5% of the shares, or about £6 billion.
Isn't it just a massive power outage? Britain brought it upon itself
However, the good times did not last long, and Britain soon began to follow the United States, smearing Chinese companies for "threatening British national security" and "engaging in espionage activities" in Sino-British nuclear power and 5G communications, and trying to find fault with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project.
In this regard, Liu Xiaoming, then China's ambassador to the UK, wrote an article in the British media, emphasizing that China-UK relations "are at an important historical juncture", and that the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant is not a whimsical idea, but the crystallization of trilateral cooperation between China, Britain and France, and the UK will face a serious power shortage by 2025. Therefore, the UK side needs to make the right decisions to ensure that the project moves forward smoothly.
However, in the face of China's kind words and persuasion, Britain still did not repent, insisted on following the United States to the black, and finally at the end of last year, after the China General Nuclear Power Group liquidated the agreed share of the contract, it no longer provided funds for the project, and the cost of nuclear power plant construction and overspending will be borne by Britain and France.
But in the face of such a big mess, the British government directly "lay down and pretend to be dead", declaring that "it will not invest a penny in nuclear power plants", and asking EDF to find a way to solve the problem of cost overruns.
The British really don't want to pay a penny
Since the British government has not pulled out a dime, EDF has simply spread its hands and started grinding foreign workers, anyway, the nuclear power plant was built for the British, and it has not been repaired well, and it is not the French who are most anxious. However, this is not the most ridiculous, because after the cost of nuclear power plants was overrun, the British government more than once hit the idea of "letting Chinese companies continue to pay for it".
Last year, a source claimed that after settling the contract share, CGN had not paid for cost overruns for several weeks - Chinese companies had obviously withdrawn from the construction of nuclear power plants, and the British government still hoped that Chinese companies would continue to pay for the "wrongs", which can only be said that the outside world still underestimated the shamelessness of the United Kingdom.
Then let's look at the French millers
Now Britain is like a dilapidated settlement that can't wake up, and it still imagines that it is the British Empire of the past, and can put on an arrogant face at will towards China and France, but everyone knows that the times have long changed, and the British Empire has become the afterglow of the sunset, and now Britain not only can't even get together the funds to repair nuclear power plants, but even the GDP can be surpassed by India.
Just like this, Britain is still shy in pointing fingers at China and hyping up China-related issues every day, I really don't know where Britain has the confidence and confidence. Therefore, Britain has fallen to this point today is completely to blame, anyway, after China withdraws its investment, Britain still watches the French slowly build nuclear power plants, as for the British government wants to count on Chinese companies to "pay out of pocket", it can only be said that there is everything in the dream.