Spending review latest: Government accused of not ‘coming clean' over full costs of Sizewell C nuclear plant
Rachel Reeves has committed billions to nuclear power projects as she prepares to use Wednesday's spending review to allocate funding for major infrastructure projects over the rest of the decade.
The Suffolk plant, which ministers said would power the equivalent of six million homes, is expected to take around a decade to complete, with officials hoping it will be operational before the end of the 2030s.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said new nuclear power capacity was needed to deliver a 'golden age of clean energy abundance'.
But the announcement has been criticised by some, who say the full cost of the Sizewell C plant could be as much as £40 billion.
Alison Downes, of Stop Sizewell C, said: 'Where is the benefit for voters in ploughing more money into Sizewell C that could be spent on other priorities, and when the project will add to consumer bills and is guaranteed to be late and overspent just like Hinkley C?'
China banned from investing in Sizewell C, energy secretary Ed Miliband vows
China will be blocked from investing in the new Sizewell C power station, the energy secretary has said.
Asked whether China would be able to invest in the new power station, in Suffolk, Ed Miliband told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'No'.
But he declined to rule out investment from other foreign governments, saying: 'I'm not going to go into who the private bidders are. We've got a process at the moment.
'It's majority public investment in this, in Sizewell C. We're going to get some private investment in, but obviously, that always goes through national security checks.
'It's about making sure that any bidders… are people you would want owning part of your nuclear power station.'
Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 10:27
Ministers accused of 'not coming clean' about full cost of Sizewell C
Alison Downes, of Stop Sizewell C, said ministers had not 'come clean' about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion.
She said: 'Where is the benefit for voters in ploughing more money into Sizewell C that could be spent on other priorities, and when the project will add to consumer bills and is guaranteed to be late and overspent just like Hinkley C?'
Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 10:26
Sizewell C nuclear plant to be built with £14.2bn government funding
Rachel Reeves has agreed to pump billions of pounds into Britain's nuclear energy sector, putting £14.2bn towards construction of the new Sizewell C nuclear power station.
The multi-billion pound investment will be confirmed by the chancellor at the GMB union's annual congress on Tuesday, just days before she is expected to make sweeping cuts to unprotected departments at Wednesday's spending review.
The Suffolk plant, which ministers said would power the equivalent of six million homes, is expected to take around a decade to complete, with officials hoping it will be operational before the end of the 2030s.
Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 10:08
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