The government is adding an extra £341 million to existing £840 million stake to speed up Sizewell C construction.
The funding is a part of the government’s drive to create a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK. The money will prepare the Sizewell C site for construction, procuring key components from the project’s supply chain, and expanding its workforce.
Minister for nuclear and networks Andrew Bowie said Sizewell C will provide clean “home-grown power” to UK homes and “thousands of jobs and ending reliance on foreign electricity to bolster our energy security.”
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The nuclear station would comprise 2 reactors, generating a total of 3.2GW of electricity, equivalent to 7% of the UK’s electricity needs. It would help deliver the government’s ambition for up to 24GW of the UK’s power to come from nuclear sources by 2050 – four times the current level.
Sizewell C Company joint managing director, Julia Pyke, said: “We want people living near the station to see the benefits of the project as soon as possible and we’re looking forward to getting started on a range of proposals which will bring real improvements to the area well before the main construction gets underway.”
The news follows the launch of a Great British Nuclear (GBN), an initiative offering nuclear companies the chance to secure more than £157 million of grant funding as it looks to help drive the expansion of new power plants in the UK.
