UK govt puts up £700m of taxpayer cash for Sizewell nuke plant

The UK government on Tuesday confirmed the Sizewell C nuclear power plant would proceed and backed the plan with a £700m investment, effectively ending China’s involvement.

Ministers said the move to take a 50% stake in the project’s development - first announced in Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement - would create 10,000 highly skilled jobs and provide power to the equivalent of 6 million homes for more than 50 years.

The government had initially sought investment in Sizewell from state-owned China General Nuclear, but reversed its position as tensions between the two countries grew.

There was no indication of who would fund the rest of the project other than the government saying it would seek other investors before making the final investment decision and beginning construction.

The plant on the Suffolk coast will be developed by French energy company EDF, making it the second of a new generation of UK nuclear power reactors after the delayed Hinkley Point C scheme in Somerset, currently being built but hampered by delays and soaring costs.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com