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Sizewell C nuclear plant sees government become main funder of £38b project

  • July 22, 2025
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Mariam Issimdar

BBC News, Suffolk

1752583315 159 grey placeholder Sizewell C nuclear plant sees government become main funder of £38b projectSizewell C A computer-generated image of what Sizewell C nuclear power station could look like, multiple buildings are shown including two with domes.Sizewell C

The government has said it will invest £14.2bn into the Sizewell C nuclear power plant

The government has announced it will become the main shareholder in the new Sizewell C nuclear plant.

It has confirmed taxpayers will take a 44.9% stake in the project which will also be funded by four other companies; EDF, Centrica, La Caisse and Amber Infrastructure.

Downing Street had already committed £14.2bn of investment to build the new Sizewell C nuclear plant on the Suffolk coastline, ahead of the Spending Review.

The cost of the project, revealed on Tuesday, is now £38bn – the last official figure was for £20bn.

Alison Downes, director of pressure group Stop Sizewell C, said: “This much-delayed final investment decision has only crawled over the line thanks to guarantees that the public purse, not private investors, will carry the can for the inevitable cost overruns.”

Sizewell C is expected to create 10,000 direct jobs, thousands more in firms supplying the plant and generate enough energy to power six million homes, the Treasury said.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “It is time to do big things and build big projects in this country again and today we announce an investment that will provide clean, homegrown power to millions of homes for generations to come.

“This government is making the investment needed to deliver a new golden age of nuclear, so we can end delays and free us from the ravages of the global fossil fuel markets to bring bills down for good.”

1752583315 159 grey placeholder Sizewell C nuclear plant sees government become main funder of £38b projectMartin Giles/BBC Stop Sizewell C director Alison Downes outside in Suffolk. She has shoulder length blonde hair.Martin Giles/BBC

Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said taxpayers would “carry the can”

Ownership of the plant will see La Caisse take a 20% stake, Centrica will have 15% and Amber Infrastructure an initial 7.6%.

This comes alongside French energy giant EDF taking a 12.5 % stake in the project, set out earlier this month, as well as a proposed £5bn debt guarantee from France’s export credit agency, Bpifrance Assurance Export, to back the company’s commercial bank loans.

Julia Pyke, joint managing director of Sizewell C, said: “By investing in Sizewell C, they [the government] are laying the foundations for a more secure, cleaner and more affordable energy system.

“Because 70% of our construction spend will be in the UK, with a £4.4bn commitment to the east of England, they will also help to create thousands of great jobs and new opportunities for people and businesses up and down the country.”

1752583315 159 grey placeholder Sizewell C nuclear plant sees government become main funder of £38b projectJamie Niblock/BBC New road and large area with diggers and earthmoving equipmentJamie Niblock/BBC

Large areas of land have already been cleared in preparation for the building of Sizewell C

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