The shock announcement came just hours after French energy giant EDF made a final investment decision to go ahead with the £18bn project, paving the way for construction to start.
On Thursday evening, EDF board members had voted in favour of the project by just 10 votes to seven, only for the business and energy secretary Greg Clark to announce shortly afterwards that the government was delaying its final decision on whether to support the scheme.
The government insisted its stance on nuclear hadn’t changed, but that new Cabinet ministers needed more time to look at the project methodically and in greater detail.
However, the announcement came as a shock to EDF, which had planned an event at Hinkley on Friday 29 July to begin signing contracts and celebrate the launch of the project.
Mr Clark said on Thursday evening: “The UK needs a reliable and secure energy supply and the government believes that nuclear energy is an important part of the mix.
“The government will now consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn.”
Just last week, Mr Clark had welcomed EDF’s announcement that it would make a decision at Thursday’s board meeting, saying it would show that the UK was “open for business”.
EDF had earlier stated that the final investment decision had given it authorisation to sign off all contracts and agreements necessary to build the two nuclear reactors.
It added that the decision would now enable the group to mobilise all its significant nuclear engineering skills for the future.
Both of these moves now look likely to be put on hold.
EDF’s final investment decision was initially thought to have ended years of delays to the Somerset project, which has the potential to provide 7 per cent of the UK’s energy when finished and was slated to be fully operational by 2025.
The decision was viewed as a demonstration of confidence in the infrastructure sector and in the UK as a place to invest following uncertainty after the EU referendum outcome.
It had also briefly come as a relief to dozens of contractors that are signed up to carry out more than £2bn of work at the plant.
The plant’s construction would create more than 25,000 jobs across its nine-year build programme.
In 2013 the government and EDF agreed on a strike price, with the French energy giant promising to secure a final investment decision by July 2014.
By March 2014 it emerged that this could not be achieved, with a decision being pushed back to 2015.
More dates for FID came and went, with some questioning whether the project would go ahead at all.
Last October EDF said it expected to make a final investment decision on the plant by the end of the year, but this target was missed.
In March EDF chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal stepped down due to concerns over the impact building Hinkley would have on EDF’s financial position.
Doubts over the project intensified following Brexit, despite the EDF board saying Britain’s vote to leave the EU would have no impact on its decision.
