EDF reject claims Sizewell C will cost £40bn

EDF has rejected claims that plans for a new nuclear power station will cost £40bn.

The French contractor planned to build Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast which was originally expected to cost £20bn.

However, industry sources close to the scheme, which is yet to be given permission, estimated a rise of double this.

EDF declined to put its own figure on the likely cost but said £40bn was "not accurate". The government also said it did not recognise this sum.

EDF is also building a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, in Somerset, which it did accept would cost more than £40bn compared to a 2022 estimate of £26bn.

"Recent claims about Sizewell C's costs are not accurate and do not reflect the significant savings we are already making because we are building on the achievements at Hinkley Point C," EDF said in a statement on Tuesday.

"That project has done the hard job of restarting UK nuclear construction and is seeing efficiency improvements of around 30% between its first and second reactor units.

"It means we are starting construction with a completed design, a skilled workforce and a supply chain ready to deliver."

One senior government source, and two industry sources, reportedly said a reasonable assumption for the cost of building Sizewell C would be £40bn in 2025 prices, as first reported by the Financial Times.

Sizewell is yet to get signed off by government, but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband previously said he wanted to develop further nuclear sites.

The government has repeatedly insisted that new nuclear plants would be needed if the UK is to hit its target to decarbonise power generation.

Nuclear currently produces around 14% of the UK's electricity.

All but one of the UK's existing nuclear fleet is due to be decommissioned by 2030 with Hinkley Point not due to start producing power until 2029 and Sizewell at least three years later.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it did not recognise the "speculative" £40 billion figure with sensitive discussions with investors ongoing.

They explained Sizewell C would "play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero", while creating thousands of jobs.

"The project is expected to reduce the cost of the electricity system, boost our supply of secure homegrown power and generate major investment nationwide," they added.

Sizewell C has faced opposition from local and national groups who maintained that nuclear energy was slow, expensive and disruptive.

Alison Downes, executive director of campaign group Stop Sizewell C, said the lack of cost transparency around the power station was inexcusable.

She said ministers should "come clean" over the project's "massive cost".

The government has already committed nearly £4bn to the early development stages and there are currently 1,000 workers on site with plans to expand that to a total of 6,000 at the peak of construction activity.

The government is expected to make a final investment decision later this year.

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