EDF hopes for UK-style support for new French nuclear plants
Staff Writer |
French utility EDF hopes for UK-style subsidies for the construction of new nuclear plants in France and expects that President-elect Emmanuel Macron's plan to reduce the share of nuclear in the French power mix is a "long-term" plan.
Article continues below
EDF chief financial officer Xavier Girre said on an earnings call with analysts that EDF would discuss power market regulation with Macron's team "in order to set a right, positive and fair set of regulations for our industry".
"Regulation is absolutely key, and I am very optimistic that we will be in a position to discuss these matters in depth with the new administration," Girre said.
He said state-owned EDF was hoping to convince the Macron government to introduce state subsidies for new nuclear plants, modelled on the British "Contracts for Difference" (CfD) scheme under which EDF is planning to build two nuclear reactors in Hinkley Point, Britain.
"We consider it will be appropriate to discuss a kind of CfD for future nuclear newbuild in France," Girre said.
For its 18 billion pound (21 billion euros) Hinkley Point project, EDF has signed a CfD with Britain under which it can sell power at 92.5 pounds (109.5 euros) per megawatt hour for 35 years.
If the market price is above that level, EDF refunds the difference, if it is below that level it receives a top-up.
Girre also said that Macron's campaign target to reduce the share of nuclear in the French energy mix to 50 percent by 2025 from about 75 percent today was a "long-term" target and that his plans for CO2 floor price should be positive for the utility. ■
A low pressure wave forming along a cold front will track across the New England coast this morning, bringing a period of rain, heavy at times for much of New England, especially for Maine today.