The development of two new nuclear reactors in England, known as Sizewell C, has received authorisation from outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The project, which might cost up to €35.5 billion, should now be able to obtain private investment thanks to the governmental go-ahead.
According to reports, the government, which has already spent about €120 million on the project’s development, may also contribute up to 20% of the project’s funding.
The expansion of the plant is the subject of commercially sensitive conversations, a government spokeswoman said, but she also added that nuclear power has a critical role to play as they try to minimise their dependence on fossil fuels and their vulnerability to fluctuating global gas prices.
The Chinese contractor CGN and the French national energy company EDF were both involved in the project’s early development. According to reports, the UK government is attempting to remove the Chinese company from the project for security reasons. The design of the reactor put out by EDF has already received approval from the UK’s nuclear regulator. According to EDF, the 3.2 GW station will create 900 jobs during construction and thousands more once it is operational.
While Sizewell B is in use, the nearby Sizewell A plant is currently being dismantled. If Sizewell C does move forward with construction, it won’t likely start producing energy for another ten years.
