• Canada
  • USA
  • Fossil Fuels
  • About
  • Contact
  • Eco-Anxiety
  • Climate Glossary
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
Subscribe
The Energy Mix
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
Subscribe
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result

UK’s Sizewell C Nuclear Developers Contest £40B Cost Estimate

January 24, 2025
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Gaye Taylor

Hinkley Point C photo by Nick Chipchase/wikimedia commons

Hinkley Point C photo by Nick Chipchase/wikimedia commons

As French nuclear developer EDF and the UK government dispute recent assertions that the planned Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk will cost £40 billion to build, a new report from the International Energy Agency is bullish on the global nuclear sector, but only if obstacles like cost overruns are addressed.

Sources “close to the negotiations” recently pegged building costs for the not-yet-approved 3.2-gigawatt station at £40 billion, double the estimate given by EDF and then-prime minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government back in 2020, reports the Financial Times.

“Surging construction costs as well as the implications of delays and cost overruns at sister site Hinkley Point C” were cited as reasons behind the price spike, writes FT. “The higher estimate is likely to raise questions over the government’s strategy for a nuclear power revival, at a time of stretched government finances and cost-of-living concerns,” the London-based daily adds.

EDF was swift to question the £40-billion figure on grounds that it fails to capture the value of knowledge gained from building Hinkley Point, reports the BBC, citing a company media release.

Describing the £40-billion estimate as “not accurate”, EDF said it reflected neither “efficiency improvements of around 30%” achieved over the course of building Hinkley, nor that construction on Sizewell C will begin with “a completed design [and] skilled work force” ready to hand and a supply chain “ready to deliver.”

A spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero described the £40-billion figure as “speculative” since discussions with potential investors are ongoing.

For its part, France’s state auditor has warned EDF against making any final investment decision on Sizewell C “until it has reduced exposure” to Hinkley Point, reports City AM.

Responding to the auditor, EDF Chair and CEO Luc Rémont said the Labour government has taken charge of financing for Sizewell C, and that his company now holds less than a 20% equity share in the project.

Labour Party donor and UK wind entrepreneur Dale Vince is among those warning that Sizewell C will cost too much to build, whoever builds it, with the costs invariably passed on to the ratepayer.

Sizewell “will saddle consumers with higher bills long before it delivers a single unit of electricity,” Vince said in a recent letter to the government’s new Office for Value for Money, reports FT.

Whitehall is expected to make a final investment decision about Sizewell C later in the year.

Reports of the potential doubling of estimated costs for Sizewell C landed as the International Energy Agency issued a new report on the future of the global nuclear sector. Titled “The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy”, the report finds nuclear power “set to reach a new record in 2025”, with consequent improvements in energy security as electricity demand accelerates.

To achieve success, however, the report says, “Costs, project overruns, and financing must be addressed.”



in Energy Politics, Finance & Investment, Heat & Power, International Agencies & Studies, Jobs & Training, Legal & Regulatory, Nuclear, Power Grids, Subsidies, UK & Europe

Trending Stories

Ian Muttoo/flickr
United States

Ontario Slaps 25% Surcharge on Power Exports as U.S. Commerce Secretary Vows More Tariffs

March 12, 2025
303
Doug Kerr/flickr
Power Grids

New NB-NS Transmission Line Would ‘Take Care of Home’ Through Trump’s Trade War

March 7, 2025
277
LoggaWiggler / Pixabay
Energy Politics

Tariffs Likely to Crater Canadian Crude Exports to U.S., Marathon Tells Investors

March 11, 2025
238

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Get the climate news you need, delivered direct to your inbox. Sign up for our free e-digest.

Subscribe Today

View our latest digests

Related Articles

Canada Pours Nearly $450M Into New Nuclear Subsidies

Canada Pours Nearly $450M Into New Nuclear Subsidies

March 12, 2025
‘No Sensible Way’ to Restart Shuttered Nuclear Plants, German Utilities Say, Amid Calls for Review

‘No Sensible Way’ to Restart Shuttered Nuclear Plants, German Utilities Say, Amid Calls for Review

December 5, 2024
‘Massive Victory’ for Nuclear as Three Mile Island Plant Set to Reopen

‘Massive Victory’ for Nuclear as Three Mile Island Plant Set to Reopen

September 26, 2024

Quicker, Smaller, Better: A Fork in the Road That Delivers a Clean Energy Future

by Mitchell Beer
March 9, 2025

…

Follow Us

Copyright 2025 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_logo
Climate-and-Capital

No Result
View All Result
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2025 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2025 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.