The British government announced on Wednesday that the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project, of which France’s EDF is the main partner, received “development authorization” from Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng.
The project “involves the construction of a new nuclear power plant that produces reliable and low-carbon electricity to help” the country reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, according to a statement, which specifies that the plant could serve 6 million homes.
London has made nuclear power development one of the priorities of its energy strategy, but many of its 15 reactors are at the end of their useful lives and the only plant currently under construction, Hinkley Point C, a project also led by EDF ( Électricité de France) by China’s CGN (China General Nuclear Power), has seen costs skyrocket and won’t open until 2027.
Amid a cost-of-living crisis fueled by rising energy bills, and with the war in Ukraine putting energy independence back in the spotlight, the UK wants to accelerate the development of nuclear power.
The project plans to have up to eight new reactors by 2050 in some of its eight designated nuclear facilities, with the aim of supplying 25% of the electricity demand.
Sizewell C is a £20bn power plant project, including two 3.2GW EPRs, in which EDF has an 80% stake, again together with China’s CGN, which owns the remainder. .
Although China’s influence on British strategic assets is regularly denounced by conservative parliamentarians, putting pressure on the government, the statement does not specify whether the CGN will remain a partner or whether it will ultimately be expelled, as has been reported in the British press. for months.
Spokesmen for the Ministry of Energy, contacted by AFP, were not immediately available.
London had announced in January that it would pump an additional £100m into the Sizewell C development, located in Suffolk on the country’s east coast, and “to attract further funding from private investors”.
And the UK government’s October budget guidelines set out up to £1.7bn that could be spent on developing the project, in which London could have a direct stake.
The executive announced in October a new financing model for his nuclear power projects that will transfer part of the cost to people’s energy bills, but is expected to reduce the total cost of expensive reactors.
Source: TSF
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
