Government puts further £341m towards Sizewell C nuclear reactor on Suffolk coast
It means over £1.2bn in public money has now been invested into the project
The government is to invest a further £341m into the new Sizewell C nuclear reactor on the Suffolk coast.
Ministers say the extra cash will help prepare the site for construction, expand the workforce and buy key components for the new power station, which is being built by EDF.
£870m worth of public money has already been put towards the £20bn project, meaning the government's total stake in Sizewell C is now around £1.2bn.
It's claimed Sizewell C will provide low-carbon energy to 6 million homes across the UK over its 60 year lifetime.
However the project has long been criticised for its immense cost, as well as the design of the reactor and the potential damage it could do to the environment on the sensitive Suffolk coast.
Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie said: "Sizewell C will be a significant part of the revival of nuclear energy in this country – providing clean, home-grown power to millions of homes, providing thousands of jobs and ending reliance on foreign electricity to bolster our energy security."
"Today’s funding announcement is a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to this vital project, and will mean the site will be shovel-ready, and work able to start, much more quickly."
Sizewell C will consist to two reactors built to the Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) design.
In the past EDF has acknowledged the difficulty of building the EPR design. The first such reactor was built in Finland and was first set to go online in 2009.
However it only started regular electricity production this year after years of delays and cost overruns.
A spokesperson for Stop Sizewell C, a group opposed to the development, said: "The UK government acquiring a bigger and bigger stake in Sizewell C is letting France and EDF off the hook for their terrible project."
"What a shocking legacy for Sunak's government, to be duped into throwing good taxpayers' money after bad in order to shore up what would almost certainly be the very last EPR reactors built.
"Meanwhile no one can explain why it is a good idea for the UK to pursue this tortuously difficult technology when the French are moving on to a simpler, cheaper design."