Plans to build a replica of Somerset's Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Suffolk have been given the green light by the government.
The Sizewell C station will receive £700m of public funding and will be built by French energy giant EDF, which is behind Bridgwater's delayed Hinkley Point C plant.
The government said on Tuesday (November 29) the development would create 10,000 highly skilled jobs and provide low-carbon power to the equivalent of six million homes for more than 50 years. An arms-length body - Great British Nuclear - is also being established to develop a pipeline of nuclear projects beyond Sizewell C.
Hinkley Point C is still under construction, but costs have climbed since construction started. In May, EDF said the plant could cost up to £3bn more to build than originally planned. In August, a 5,000-tonne structure was placed on the seabed of the Bristol Channel - the site's "biggest-ever lift at sea" - as part of work being carried out at the plant.
EDF’s chief executive, Simone Rossi, said replicating Hinkley Point C’s design at Sizewell would provide "more certainty" over schedule and costs. He said: “It will deliver another big boost to jobs and skills in the nuclear industry and provide huge new opportunities for communities in Suffolk."
'This package will help permanently bring down bills'
The announcement comes after ministers set out plans to reduce energy demand by 15% by 2030, with a new £1bn Eco+ energy efficiency scheme, and a public awareness campaign – previously blocked under Liz Truss’s administration as being too “nanny state” – to help save energy this winter.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure, including from some Tory MPs, to U-turn on plans to keep the ban on onshore wind farms in England – one of the cheapest forms of energy.
Business and energy secretary Grant Shapps said: “Global gas prices are at record highs, caused by Putin’s illegal march on Ukraine. We need more clean, affordable power generated within our borders – British energy for British homes.
“Today’s historic deal giving government backing to Sizewell C’s development is crucial to this, moving us towards greater energy independence and away from the risks that a reliance on volatile global energy markets for our supply comes with.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who announced the intention to push ahead with the project in the autumn statement, said Sizewell C represented "the biggest step" on the UK's journey to energy independence.
He added: "[It is] the first state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years. Once complete, this mega project will power millions of homes with clean, affordable, home-grown energy for decades to come.
“Together with our drive to improve the nation’s energy efficiency, this package will help to permanently bring down energy bills and stop Britain being at the mercy of global gas prices beyond our control.”
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