Major nuclear power plant in PM’S plans
FUNDING for a major new nuclear power plant in Britain will be announced before the 2024 election, the Government will promise this week as it reveals plans to heavily reduce carbon emissions.
The Daily Telegraph understands a promise to agree financing for the new plant in the current parliament will be included in the Government’s longawaited Net Zero strategy.
The document, said to be more than 150 pages long, will detail how Boris Johnson plans to fulfil his pledge to bring the UK’S carbon emissions down to “net zero” by the year 2050.
It will cover everything from shifting away from polluting cars to adopting greener heating at home and precedes next month’s Cop26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. According to government insiders, the front-runner site to win the funding for a major new nuclear power plant is Sizewell C, a plant being proposed by EDF Energy for Suffolk.
If approved, Sizewell C would supply around six million homes with low carbon energy for around 60 years, according to EDF Energy – though critics question if it offers value for money.
Recommitting to announcing new funding by the end of this parliament would mean that a decision must be taken before May 2024, the latest point the general election can be held.
Government financing could take the form of guaranteed fixed price for each unit of energy produced at the site – as happened with Hinkley Point – rather than only direct investment.
A government spokesman said: “Nuclear power has a key role to play as we work to build a strong, home-grown energy sector to further reduce our
reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global gas prices.
“We are seeking to approve at least one more large-scale nuclear project in the next few years to strengthen energy security and create thousands of jobs.”
The push to fund a major new nuclear power plant is only one strand of the renewed focus inside the Government at growing Britain’s nuclear industry.
Boris Johnson is understood to view the lack of expansion in the UK civil nuclear industry over the last decade as regrettable.
The Prime Minister named “advancing nuclear as a clean energy source” as one of the 10 points in his “green industrial revolution” plan published in November 2020. For years there has been an interest within the Government about funding the next generation of nuclear power technology, specifically small modular reactors.
The Net Zero strategy is just one of a number of major government announcements on energy and climate change targets expected in the next fortnight.
Cop26 is seen as a major international test of Mr Johnson’s leadership.