EDF finance chief quits over British nuclear power plant plan: source

[bananas]

Source: Agence France-Presse

The chief financial officer of French energy giant EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) , Thomas Piquemal, has resigned over a disagreement about an ambitious project to build Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades, a source close to the matter told AFP on Sunday.

"The chief financial officer presented his resignation last week to Jean-Bernard Levy (CEO) because of a disagreement over Hinkley Point," the source said, confirming a Bloomberg report.

The dispute centred around "the short-term feasibility" of a plan to build two new reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, southwest England, the source told AFP.

According to the same source, Piquemal had not wanted to rush the project at a time when the company's union representatives are voicing increasing concern over the proposed plant's £18-billion ($25.8-billion, 23.6-million-euro) price tag.

<snip>

Read more: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/edf-finance-chief-quits-over-220043600.html

[Helen Borg]

1. They can fucking build them in France!

[kristopher]

2. No they can't, they cost too much.

More delays for Flamanville 3
8 September 2015
Print Email

Technical problems and tightened safety rules have further delayed construction of EDF's European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) being built at Flamanville in northern France, further pushing up costs. State owned utility EDF says the plant will not be operational before 2018 and is now expected to cost €10.5bn, up from an initial budget of €3bn. The project had already been delayed several years owing to problems with suppliers and new safety requirements following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Levy told a news conference that he still had "total confidence in the Flamanville EPR", adding that it was "a priority for EDF and a major issue for the French nuclear industry and its international reputation". He said the EPR was a prototype and therefore prone to difficulties, but that the new cost estimate was realistic.

Construction of the Flamanville EPR began in December 2007 with planned completion in 2012 and commercial operation in 2013. It was then rescheduled to 2017 following discovery of flaws in the steel reactor pressure vessel, forcing the manufacturer Areva to carry out additional tests. Areva expects the results of the assessment in October.

EDF said significant progress has been made on the construction site recently. 98% of the building civil structure has been completed, as has 60% of the electromechanical erection. Pre-stressing operations on the reactor building inner containment have been carried out, and the control room has been commissioned.

The new roadmap, to which EDF and its partners are committed...

http://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsmore-delays-for-flamanville-3-4667192