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The new Sizewell C nuclear power station is expected to get the final go-ahead during an Anglo-French summit in London next month, as UK ministers edge towards securing billions of investment from the private sector.
The UK government — which owns the Sizewell C project alongside French state-owned energy company EDF — is keen to begin construction at the Suffolk site, the second in a proposed fleet of new nuclear reactors to help boost Britain’s supplies of low-carbon electricity.
Darren Jones, a Treasury minister, told the Financial Times earlier this year that the final investment decision for Sizewell C, where shareholders formally commit to the investment, would be “at the spending review” on June 11.
Ministers are expected to reaffirm the government’s intention to invest in Sizewell in or around the spending review, according to people close to the situation, with details expected on how much they could allocate in taxpayer support for the project.
However, the final go-ahead is not expected until an announcement by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron during the Franco-British summit in London between July 8 and July 10, according to people close to the talks in Britain and France.
By then the government and EDF will have received final bids from several private investors who have been given a deadline of late June, allowing the formal final investment decision to proceed.
Groups expected to bid for a stake in Sizewell include insurer Rothesay, backed by the Singaporean infrastructure fund GIC, the Canadian pension fund CDPQ, Amber Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, pension fund USS, Schroders Greencoat and Equitix, people close to the talks have said.
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has also confirmed that it is in talks to invest in the project.
Chris O’Shea, Centrica’s chief executive, told the FT last week that he wanted to get a “reasonable return, cap on exposure to overruns in terms of cost and schedule, and a sensible cash injection profile which sees the money going in over time. If we get that, we will be a very happy investor”.
One potential investor said terms were “generous”. Another potential investor who declined to be named said the government had “gone a long way to make it attractive”.
The project remains controversial, however, given that it will be paid for by higher energy bills during construction.
“Any private investors that came on board at the eleventh hour will have been bribed by generous terms at the expense of consumers,” said Alison Downes of the Stop Sizewell C campaign.
Sizewell’s management has rejected industry claims that its final cost could ultimately come close to £40bn but has refused to offer their own estimate.
Sizewell C is set to be only the second new nuclear power plant built in a generation in Britain, following Hinkley Point C, which EDF is building in Somerset but is heavily delayed and well over budget.
EDF has tried to get Sizewell C off the ground for years. Its efforts were further complicated when the British government forced out EDF’s former partner, China General Nuclear Power Corp, on security grounds in November 2022.
Sizewell C was meant to get an investment sign-off in late 2024 but the project’s timescale has slipped. In 2022 the British state said it would co-invest directly with EDF on the project and has steadily increased its ownership of the project.
As of December 31, the UK government’s stake was 84 per cent, compared with EDF’s 16 per cent. A person familiar with the situation said EDF has since lowered its stake further.
Schroders Greencoat, Brookfield, GIC, Amber, Rothesay, CDPQ and Equitix declined to comment. A government spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on speculation.”
EDF declined to comment. USS had not responded to a request for a response at the time of publication.
