Labour ministers are urged to reveal true cost of building Sizewell C – as cost of building Suffolk nuclear plant doubles to £40BN
The cost of building the new Sizewell C nuclear power station is expected to reach £40billion – double the original estimate.
The cost overruns on the project in Suffolk will ring alarm bells as the nuclear plant is considered vital for keeping the lights on as the UK switches to renewable power.
The original £20bn cost of the power plant was given by developer EDF and the UK government in 2020.
But now a price tag of nearer to £40bn is expected, according to people close to the negotiations over the flagship energy scheme cited by the Financial Times.
The soaring price will be paid for by consumers with a higher cost to their bills during the scheme’s construction, which has not yet begun.
When completed – expected in the 2030s – it will supply enough power to supply 6million homes.
The cost will make the plant the second most expensive nuclear plant in the world – after its sister plant Hinkley Point C currently being built which is expected to cost even more at £46bn.
Sizewell C was meant to be cheaper than Hinkley as it is being built to a similar design, so it would be able to benefit from lessons learned in its construction.
The cost of building the new Sizewell C nuclear power station is expected to reach £40billion – double the original estimate
Sizewell B nuclear power station is pictured in September 1, 2022
Campaign poster about stopping construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station
But escalating building costs and overruns at Hinkley Point C are pushing up costs on Sizewell C. No new nuclear plant has been built in the UK since 1987.
The Treasury is due to decide whether to go ahead with Sizewell C in this year’s multiyear spending review, according to officials cited by the FT.
Earlier this month the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) said it could not reveal the current cost estimate for the project as it was ‘commercially sensitive’.
The government has already awarded £3.7bn of state funding to the project.
Ministers had planned to reach a final investment decision by the end of 2024 but were forced to delay this until spring 2025. Now there is industry speculation that any deal could slip beyond the autumn.
Alison Downes, executive director of campaign group Stop Sizewell C, urged the government to reveal the true cost of the project, adding: ‘This secrecy around Sizewell C is inexcusable.’
Warning sign on the perimeter of Sizewell B nuclear power station, Near Leiston, Suffolk, UK
The Treasury is due to decide whether to go ahead with Sizewell C in this year’s multiyear spending review
Nuclear power currently supplies about 14 per cent of the UK’s electricity and many experts say it will be critical to push to cut carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050.
However, all but one of Britain’s current ageing fleet of plants is due to close by March 2030, potentially sooner if planned life extensions cannot go ahead.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: ‘We do not recognise this speculative figure – discussions with investors are ongoing and commercially sensitive.
‘New nuclear power stations such as Sizewell C will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero, while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs and supporting our energy independence beyond 2030.
‘The project is expected to reduce the cost of the electricity system, boost our supply of secure homegrown power and generate major investment nationwide.’
Joint managing directors of Sizewell C, Nigel Cann and Julia Pyke, said in a statement that the claims are ‘not accurate and do not reflect the significant savings we are already making because we are building on the achievements at Hinkley Point C.’
They added: ‘The real question to ask is what is the cost of not doing Sizewell C?’
‘This winter we have seen prolonged periods of dull, calm weather and low output from wind and solar.’
EDF was approached for comment.
