We have delayed the operational start date of Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, and other Pressurised Water Reactors

• On January 23rd EDF announced a delay to Hinkley Point C's expected start date, from 2027-2028 to 2029-2031.
• We expect other new nuclear reactors to now face similar delays. We have pushed back the start date of Sizewell C to 2033-2036 and delayed other new Pressurised Water reactors by two years.

Operational nuclear capacity falls between 2027 and 2037

The nuclear build-out from v2.3 to v2.4 is shown below.

The delay in Hinkley Point C has a minor impact on storage revenues

In the years affected by the delay of Hinckley Point C (2027-2029), price spreads fall on average. This is because the shortfall in generation can be met mostly by increased CCGT generation or changes in interconnector flows. Most of the time, it makes the minimum price in the day higher, but the maximum price in the day is only slightly higher, as the energy is replaced by a slightly more inefficient CCGT. More on this here.

The fall in price spread causes a maximum 3% reduction in battery energy storage revenues in 2028.

Delays to nuclear buildout in 2030s have a more significant impact

Into the 2030s, the delay in nuclear buildout leads to an increase in price spreads. This is because of the reduced size of the CCGT fleet over time, which causes an increased frequency of price spikes in the years most affected by the change.

This increase in price spread leads to a maximum 8% increase in battery revenues in 2036.