Austria to press on with UK nuclear complaint

Austria is ready to file a complaint to the European Court of Justice over the EU's approval of a UK subsidy for French utility EdF's 3.2GW Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.

The anti-nuclear power Austrian government can press ahead with its complaint after the European Commission's state-aid approval decision was published in the EU's official journal. "This allows Austria to bring a lawsuit against the admissibility of state aid. We are well prepared for this," Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann said.

Faymann's Social Democratic Party wants to prevent a precedent being set for state-aid support for nuclear generation.

Hinkley Point C, which would be the first of the UK's next fleet of nuclear plants, will receive £92.50/MWh (€129/MWh) from the UK government for the first 35 years of its generation under its contract for differences (CFD) subsidy. Four other new-build UK nuclear projects are planned and the governments of fellow EU members Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Lithuania also plan to build new nuclear capacity in the near-future.

Austria's ambassador to the UK warned earlier this year of the potential implications of the country's complaint, but Faymann dismissed the concerns. "[The UK government] will not be happy, but neither are we if a nuclear plant is built with such a high subsidy," Faymann said.

A final investment decision for Hinkley Point C is already on hold. EdF was unable to finalise the terms of its CFD with the outgoing government before parliament was dissolved ahead of next week's election, meaning that a decision will not be made until the next government takes office.

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