Latest news with #SizewellA
LeMonde
08-07-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
French energy giant EDF takes 12.5% stake in new UK nuclear power plant
French energy giant EDF will have a 12.5% stake in new British nuclear power plant Sizewell C, London and Paris revealed on Tuesday, July 8, in the first deal announcement of President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK. France's state-owned EDF will invest "around £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) for a 12.5-percent participation," the French government said in a statement regarding a project aimed at meeting Britain's net-zero and energy security targets. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a separate statement that the investment will help deliver "lower energy bills" and "better energy security" for Britain. The announcement comes after Starmer's Labour government said in June it would invest £14.2 billion in Sizewell C, which is being built in eastern England. Britain's government is the majority shareholder in Sizewell C, after Chinese company CGN exited the project. The plant, which is set to cost £20-30 billion to build according to current estimates, is not expected to start generating electricity until 2035. The UK has refocused on shoring up nuclear power since the start of the war in Ukraine, in the name of energy security and faced with a fleet of ageing power stations. Labour also wants to increase the share of non-carbon-emitting energy. The UK government has pledged to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 81 percent on 1990 levels by 2035 and reach net-zero by 2050. The use of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial, however, with many environmental groups warning about safety risks and the disposal of nuclear waste. The Sizewell C announcement has been met with anger by some local residents worried about the impact of the new plant on the local town of Leiston in Suffolk. Nearby is the Sizewell B nuclear power station, which is due to close in 2035, and Sizewell A, which is in the process of being decommissioned. EDF is also building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in southwestern England, although it has been blighted by delays and rising construction costs.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Nuclear Plant to Power Six Million British Homes
Weeks after Germany decided to reverse course and 're-embrace' nuclear power following their supreme idiocy on the matter, the UK government announced on Tuesday that it would invest 14.2 billion pounds (US$19.3 billion) to build a new nuclear plant in the southeast of England. The move was revealed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as part of its broader spending review, which will lay out priorities for the next four years. The new plant, named Sizewell C, will be located in Suffolk county, and is predicted to create around 10,000 jobs during construction, according to a government statement. Once operational, it will create enough electricity power roughly 6 million homes. "We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis," said Energy Minister Ed Miliband. "This is the government's clean energy mission in action, investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security." As the Epoch Times notes further, the UK has also been tapping up new investors to fund the construction of Sizewell C, but no new partners were mentioned in the announcement. Neither the total cost of construction nor a date for expected completion has been announced. Sizewell C was originally an EDF Energy project but is now majority-owned by the British government, with EDF Energy a minority shareholder. EDF Energy is the British arm of Électricité de France (EDF), which is wholly owned by the French state. The UK government's stake was 83.8 percent and EDF's stake was 16.2 percent at the end of December, EDF's financial results showed in February. Sizewell C would be just the second new nuclear plant built in Britain in more than 20 years, after another EDF project, Hinkley Point C, which was first announced in 2010. Hinkley Point C, based in Somerset, southwest England, has been beleaguered by delays and budget overruns and is currently expected to come online in 2029. Sizewell C would be the third power station built on the site after Sizewell A and Sizewell B, both of which are currently in the process of being decommissioned. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also announced that it had picked Rolls-Royce SMR to build Britain's first small modular reactors (SMRs). About 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion) of government funds will be dedicated to the SMR program over the next four years, in a bid to get one of Europe's first small-scale nuclear industries going. SMRs are usually around the size of two football fields and composed of parts that can be assembled in a factory, making them quicker and cheaper to build than conventional plants. The moves by Britain come amid a renewed interest in nuclear power across Europe, sparked by spiraling energy costs due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which is hampering the continent's supply of natural gas. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a keynote speech in August 2024 that the European Union needed more nuclear power. By More Top Reads From this article on
