It's always astonishing how hydro and nuclear are so much better handled by SoEs like EDF or HydroQuebec that manage to turn a profit too, while private companies can never do it well.
EDF is the "private company" which is building Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.
For Hinkley, EDF have assumed the construction risk in return for an exceptionally high, guaranteed "strike price" for the electricity it produces.
But for Sizewell, it sounds like a different finance arrangement will be in place, likely where the UK government/public assumes more of the risk in return for a cheaper per-MWh price.
The main advantage that EDF has that allows it to work well isn't that effective out of France. They still do good work, but they act much more like a private company than an SoE, which is why it's so much more successful in France.
Well, EDF have not been so successful with their most recent project in France, Flamanville 3.
Construction started in 2007, with estimated completion in 2012 at a cost of €3.3 billion.
As of 2020, the plant is still not complete and the cost has spiralled to €19.1 billion. It is now tentatively planned to go online at the end of 2022.
We saw what happened to Areva building reactors on a fixed cost contract. Today's economic realities do not quite let one plan a 10 year project on a fixed cost. 3.3bn do not equate to 2007 3.3bn in 2020. The Chinese are able to do it because they not a free market economy, they can force people to work at gunpoint.
They are viable but I'm quite skeptical about accurately estimating the costs for a 10 year project. Concrete, steel, fuel, workforce costs fluctuate from a year to another, let alone 10 years. We'll just have to accept that there are going to be cost overruns.
Comparatively to other nuclear companies and in aggregate, EDF has the best safety record, the cheapest energy when subsidies are taken out, and is solidly profitable. That one or two constructions went overbudget does not matter if the result is still head and shoulders ahead of the fray.
