2 minute read - 10th June 2025
Government gives Sizewell C go-ahead with £14.2bn investment
The government has announced a £14.2bn investment to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk. The announcement is part of the Spending Review, which is set to be delivered in full on Wednesday, 11 June. The government’s investment in the plant will go towards creating 10,000 jobs at peak construction, including 1,500 apprenticeships, and supporting thousands more with suppliers across the UK.
Contracts worth £330m have already been signed with local companies, with 70% of contracts predicted to go to 3,500 British suppliers, supporting new jobs in construction, welding, and hospitality.
Sizewell C is expected to provide enough homegrown energy to power the equivalent of around six million homes.
As well as Sizewell C, the government is set to confirm one of Europe’s first small modular reactor programmes, alongside record investment in R&D for fusion energy, worth over £2.5bn over five years. Taken together with Sizewell C, this delivers the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation.
The government has announced a £14.2bn investment to build Sizewell C nuclear plant, as part of the upcoming Spending Review / Picture: EDF Energy
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Despite the UK’s strong nuclear legacy, opening the world’s first commercial nuclear power station in the 1950s, no new nuclear plant has opened in the UK since 1995, with all of the existing fleet except Sizewell B likely to be phased out by the early 2030s.
Sizewell C was one of eight sites identified in 2009 by then-Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as a potential site for new nuclear. However, the project was not fully funded in the 14 years that followed under subsequent governments.
The government’s nuclear programme is now the most ambitious for a generation. Once small modular reactors and Sizewell C come online in the 2030s, combined with Hinkley Point C, this will deliver more new nuclear to the grid than over the previous half century combined.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, said: “Today we are once again investing in Britain’s renewal, with the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation. This landmark decision is our Plan for Change in action. We are creating thousands of jobs, kickstarting economic growth and putting more money in people’s pockets.”
Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, added: “We will not accept the status quo of failing to invest in the future and energy insecurity for our country. 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. This is the government’s clean energy mission in action- investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security.”
