Kwarteng delays green light for Sizewell C

Proposals for new nuclear plant – only the second in Britain in a generation – are facing a fresh hurdle

A PROPOSED nuclear power plant central to Boris Johnson’s energy security strategy is facing uncertainty after ministers delayed a decision on planning permission.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, has pushed back a decision on whether to grant a development consent order for the Sizewell C plant in Suffolk by six weeks in a move that fuels further doubts over the Prime Minister’s ambitions for a nuclear renaissance.

Paul Scully, the business minister, said the new deadline of July 8 was to “ensure there is sufficient time to fully consider further information provided by the applicant and interested parties”.

Sizewell C would be only the second new nuclear power plant built in the UK in a generation after Hinkley Point C, in Somerset. EDF, the French energy giant, is the main developer behind both projects. EDF has yet to take a final investment decision on the project but it is in talks with the Government over funding, with ministers hoping it will be given the go-ahead this Parliament.

The French state-owned developer says the station will be able to power 6m homes and support 70,000 jobs across the UK.

The plant has attracted a backlash among the Stop Sizewell C campaign group, which counts the actor Bill Nighy among its members, who argue it is too slow and expensive and would damage tourism and wildlife.

Nuclear power currently supplies about 16pc to 20pc of Britain’s electricity every year but this figure is set to fall with most of the UK’S ageing nuclear fleet due to close within the decade.

Boris Johnson wants to build around eight new reactors by 2050 to supply about a quarter of projected power demand, as part of efforts to cut emissions and cut dependency on energy imports. He has pledged to build so many mini-nuclear reactors that he expects “not quite everyone having their own small modular reactors in their gardens, but close to it”.

Attempts to attract other nuclear developers to the UK have not gone well, however, with both Toshiba and Hitachi walking away from potential new plants in recent years.

EDF is currently the only developer with firm plans to build new plants in the UK, apart from its minority Chinese partner CGN.

Ministers are believed to be keen to block CGN’S involvement in the UK nuclear power sector owing to concerns about China’s role in critical national infrastructure. It means a third plant in Bradwell, Essex, being built by EDF is on the rocks because of CGN’S backing in the project.

EDF recently told investors: “The risks of not being in a position to carry out the Bradwell project are high and have increased in 2021.”

Ministers are hoping that a new mechanism will encourage financing by allowing developers to recoup investment while a plant is being built, rather than having to wait until it is operating.

South Korea’s state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation has been discussing potential investment in the sector with the business department, and has met with Mr Kwarteng.

EDF submitted its application for planning consent for Sizewell C in May 2020 and has received 1,290 responses from residents and interest groups. In April the business department wrote to the developers asking for extra information on water supply and drainage.

Alison Downs, from Stop Sizewell C, said the delay to the planning decision “questions a cornerstone of the Government’s energy security strategy”.

Mr Scully added: “The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.”