Plans for Sizewell C, which would sit beside Sizewell B, have been under way for more than a decade. The £20bn Sizewell C station, which is planned as a “near replica” of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, would generate 3.2GW of power and together the two stations would provide an estimated 13 per cent of the UK’s electricity needs. While Hinkley C is being constructed, Sizewell C remains in the planning and development stage and faces opposition from local campaigners.
Sizewell C is being developed by EDF, which is majority-owned by the French government. CGN has a 20 per cent stake in the civil nuclear project, and has also thrown considerable investment behind Hinkley C.
The US government has been applying pressure on its ally to blacklist CGN from its major infrastructure projects, citing national security concerns that CGN rejects.
Now, amid fresh geopolitical tensions, ministers are in discussions to end CGN’s involvement and instead take a significant...