The UK government has committed a further £170 million towards the development of the Sizewell C nuclear power station.
The funding will be used to prepare the Sizewell C site for future construction, procure key components from the project’s supply chain and expand its workforce.
The 3.2GW nuclear power plant, which is being developed by EDF Energy and situated in Suffolk, previously received a ‘historic’ £700 million investment from the government in November 2022, as reported by Current±.
This is also the first major nuclear move made by the UK government since Great British Nuclear (GBN) launched last week with the trade body established to support the UK in achieving its 24GW nuclear generation by 2050 target.
“Following the launch of GBN, and our plans for a massive revival of nuclear power, I am proud to be demonstrating the government’s commitment to the continued development of Sizewell C,” said energy security secretary Grant Shapps.
“Sizewell C represents the bridge between the ongoing construction of Hinkley Point C and our longer-term ambition to provide up to a quarter of the UK’s electricity from homegrown nuclear energy by 2050.
“Our new nuclear fleet will provide clean, reliable, and abundant energy whilst driving down bills, boosting economic growth and ensure that the UK is never held to energy ransom by tyrants like Putin.”
There is only one new nuclear plant in the UK currently under construction, EDF’s Hinkley Point C. At the site in Somerset, the French energy giant is constructing two reactors that will have a capacity of 3,260MWe when complete. It has been hit by numerous delays and cost increases however.
Current± recently sat down with Tim Sowinski, analyst at Cornwall Insight, to find out more about the role nuclear power will have on GB’s energy transition and, due to the environmental impact the technology can have, whether scaling the sector is beneficial for net zero.
