Hinkley Point developer hit by new setback with French nuclear reactor

EDF has announced a further delay to its flagship nuclear reactor project in France as it prepares to install the same design at power plants in Britain. A spokesman downplayed the likelihood of similar problems at EDF's British sites, Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, which will both use the same new EPR reactor design. EDF, which is majority owned by the French state, owns nuclear power stations across the UK and France, and is planning expensive upgrades to its French fleet. The latest delay comes as outages or closures across European nuclear power plants have added to pressure on power supplies, coinciding with a global natural gas shortage and helping to push energy costs to record levels. Nuclear power accounts for about 20pc of UK annual power but most of its ageing nuclear fleet is set to shut down within the decade, with Hinkley Point C in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk the only new plants currently on the table.