The UK is going ahead with the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, expected to generate enough low-carbon electricity to supply six million homes and create thousands of jobs.
The new plant would be built next to the existing Sizewell B, which is still generating electricity, and Sizewell A, which has been decommissioned, according to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
The project is expected to cost around £20bn and will mainly be funded by the French energy company EDF. However, Kwarteng confirmed the government will make all future planning decisions on the two-reactor plant, as it is deemed a nationally significant infrastructure project.
“Sizewell C will be one of the UK’s largest-ever green energy projects, and this decision significantly strengthens the pipeline of new nuclear capacity in Britain,” said Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association.
Once operative, Sizewell C is expected to generate 3.2 gigawatts...