EDF Raises Budget for New French Nuclear Plants to €73 Billion

Electricite de France SA raised its cost estimates for the six nuclear reactors it plans to build in its home country by 8% to €72.8 billion ($85 billion), highlighting the funding challenge faced by the state-owned utility as construction costs continue to rise.

The plan to build the new reactors — alongside swathes of renewables — is part of France’s effort to ensure long-term energy security as some of its existing units near their retirement age. It’s central to the nation’s ambition to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century. But long delays and cost overruns at projects in France and the UK have caused EDF’s debt to balloon, complicating efforts to get new projects underway.