The government has reaffirmed its pledge to invest £700 million in Sizewell C, but questions persist regarding the remaining funding.
The government has reaffirmed plans to build the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, along with a £700 million investment.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps visited the proposed site just weeks after the Chancellor approved the long-awaited power plant’s development in the Autumn Statement.
Boris Johnson, in one of his final acts as prime minister, approved funding for the project at the beginning of September.
It aspires to create sufficient low-carbon electricity to power six million homes and protect the United Kingdom from energy market volatility.
The construction of the plant, a collaborative effort with the French energy company EDF, is anticipated to take a decade and cost between £20 and £30 billion.
While the Labour Party and unions support Sizewell C, detractors argue that it is too expensive and will take too long to become operational.
Grant Shapps stated that he will advance the initiative by reviving the British Energy Security bill, which was introduced in July but put on hold in October.
As he was questioned on where the remainder of the financing was coming from, the cabinet member told reporters at the site that he “question[ed]” projections that the costs may reach up to £30 billion.
The government’s £700 million investment is for the project’s early development, but Mr. Shapps is convinced that private investors will be able to fund its construction.
He stated, “We’re quite confident since we’ve been discussing with potential investors.”
We have no concerns about foreign investment in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Shapps attributed worldwide gas price increases to Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“British energy for British households”
However, the Stop Sizewell C campaign organization asserts that the plant “can neither reduce energy costs nor provide energy independence to the United Kingdom.”
“Despite the government’s pitiful £700 million, there is still an enormous amount of money to uncover, and no one is willing to reveal the true cost,” they claimed.
Greenpeace United Kingdom also criticized the project, stating that the anticipated launch of Great British Nuclear to support it is “obviously ludicrous, given that new nuclear is neither great nor British.”
“Projects have been hampered by significant delays and escalating prices while the government seeks foreign investment funding to construct the French-designed and -built Sizewell C reactor,” said policy director Doug Parr.
Several academic institutions have demonstrated that a 100% renewable energy system might be cheaper than one based on nuclear or fossil fuels, with the added benefit of not burdening future generations with radioactive waste for millennia.
Why do ministers continue to worry about astronomically expensive, delay-plagued nuclear projects when we have far superior alternatives?
In addition to moving forward with Sizewell C, Mr. Shapps warned Wednesday that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may abandon his position to restrict new onshore wind farms in the face of a rising dissent among Conservatives.
Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are among the roughly 30 Conservatives who support former cabinet secretary Simon Clarke’s amendment to the Levelling Up Bill in favor of wind energy.
Former Conservative prime minister David Cameron enacted the prohibition in 2015, but calls for a re-evaluation have increased amid efforts to safeguard the UK’s energy independence in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has constrained supply.
