MP update shows Sizewell C “the best prepared nuclear project in modern nuclear history”

The MPs also heard that independent due diligence commissioned for HSBC by consultancy firm Enco praised the project’s progress, stating that “Sizewell C is likely the best prepared nuclear project in modern nuclear history.” The independent assessment concluded: “The Sizewell C project has high chances of avoiding pitfalls that led to a significant schedule and cost overruns on many nuclear projects, including those with EPR reactor models.”

The first ‘Sizewell C Progress Update’ was delivered to MPs by Julia Pyke and Nigel Cann, Sizewell C’s joint managing directors, at the beginning of Nuclear Week in Parliament.

Highlights from the update demonstrate that:

• Sizewell C is on time and on budget
• Development is demonstrating the game-changing benefits of replicating Hinkley Point C’s reactor design, with £1bn of cost savings identified so far through innovation and replication
• Contracts worth £2.5bn have already been agreed with 290 suppliers across the UK
• 1,000 people are now employed on site, with a 60% female executive team
• Its apprenticeship recruitment has been 50% female since the programme began in 2021; and the workforce is currently over 40% female
• Sizewell C will eventually support over 70,000 jobs across the UK, and over 70% of the construction spend will go to UK companies.
• The project will generate around £2.92 of economic value (GVA) for every £1 invested during construction and will create over £100bn of value for the UK over the lifecycle of the project.
• Sizewell C has strong local support, with most people in East Suffolk wanting the project to go ahead according to the most recent ICM polling

Commenting on the update, Julia Pyke and Nigel Cann, Sizewell C’s joint managing directors, said:

“Sizewell C is already a massive driver of growth in the UK, and the team has made extraordinary progress in the year since we received permission to begin construction.

“Sizewell C is on time and on budget and has a stable cost base. That’s in no small part because we’re using exactly the same reactor design as Hinkley Point C, which means we’ve benefitted from the research and innovation already done there.

“Sizewell C is the most important energy project that the UK is likely to undertake in the next two decades, and its benefits will be felt in every constituency across the country.”

Sizewell C will provide home-grown clean power for 6 million homes, supporting 70,000 jobs across the UK, and generating income for over 2,000 UK-based suppliers with 90% of the supply chain benefits felt in this country. Over the full lifecycle of the project, Sizewell C is expected to deliver aggregated economic benefits to the UK of over £100bn.

The project received an additional £2.7bn in funding from the government in the 2024 Budget and is due to receive its Final Investment Decision in the upcoming Spending Review.

The start of Nuclear Week in Parliament comes on the back of a UK Government announcement introducing plans to block campaigners from making repeated legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects in England and Wales.

Officials pointed to cases including the approval of Sizewell C, where campaigners spent 16 months seeking permission for a judicial review, despite their case being described as “unarguable” at every stage.