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(Bloomberg) — The UK will invest £14.2 billion ($19.2 billion) to help build the Sizewell C nuclear plant, saying the reactor will help deliver “a golden age” of abundant clean energy.
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The proposed plant in Suffolk has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, and the funding announced Tuesday comes on top of billions of pounds already pledged during its development. The eventual price tag for construction may surpass £40 billion.
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Nuclear power is a critical part of Britain’s plans to cut reliance on fossil fuels, providing a stable, low-carbon source of electricity alongside a growing fleet of offshore wind farms. But spiraling costs and yearslong approval processes make it difficult for the country to attract the money necessary to replace aging reactors.
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The new investment in Sizewell C is part of the wider spending review Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will unveil Wednesday for all parts of government, ranging from the National Health Service to the military.
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The UK also said it will soon announce the results of a competition to back the development of small modular reactors. The short list included a division of Rolls Royce Plc and a collaboration between GE Vernova Inc. and Hitachi Ltd.
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The latest spending for Sizewell C raises the government’s total commitment to £17.8 billion.
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When built, the 3.2-gigawatt plant C will generate enough electricity for 6 million homes and create 10,000 jobs, according to Reeves’ announcement. It’s a copy of another large plant, Hinkley Point C, that’s years behind schedule and costs billions of pounds more than planned.
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Even with the government allocation, Sizewell C still needs a final investment decision that depends on private funding. Ministers aim to sign up investors during next month’s Anglo-French summit in London, the Financial Times reported last week.
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The development of Sizewell goes back to local consultations that began in 2012. Since then, different UK governments have worked to come up with a way to finance the project, ultimately choosing a hybrid model of public and private capital.
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Britain first took a stake in 2022 when it bought a 50% share held by China General Nuclear Power Corp. The government subsequently became the majority owner as Electricite de France SA, which is also building Hinkley Point C, pulled back.
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