Rachel Reeves will today commit £14.2 billion to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant ahead of a commitment to a series of smaller modular reactors.
The Sizewell project in Suffolk will create 10,000 jobs locally and in the supply chain across the UK. It will be announced at the GMB Congress and end 20 years of delay and uncertainty.
It comes ahead of the Government’s Spending Review as the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband vows a ‘golden age’ of nuclear to boost the UK’s energy security.
The announcements will put added pressure on the SNP government which is opposed to nuclear power projects. Labour has said it would reverse the policy.
Torness in East Lothian is the only nuclear plant still operating in Scotland but it is expected to close by 2028,
Responsibility for energy is reserved to Westminster, but Holyrood has control over planning and environmental regulations and has consistently obstructed any move to build nuclear plants in Scotland.
Great British Nuclear is expected to announce the outcome of its small modular reactor competition imminently, which seen as part of the plan towards lower costs and unlocking private finance with a long-term ambition to bring forward one of the first SMR fleets in Europe.?
This comes alongside record investment in R&D for fusion energy, worth over £2.5 billion over five years. Taken together with Sizewell C, this delivers the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation.
Aero engine maker Rolls-Royce has been successful in the Great British Nuclear (GBN) competition to manufacture small modular reactors in the UK. Its shares rose strongly in early trade after it was confirmed this morning that it will build three SMRs.
“The success of Rolls-Royce SMR in the two-year-long process is testament to Rolls-Royce’s unique nuclear capability and the proven technologies within the SMR venture.” said the company.
The reactors are designed to be built in factories and assembled on site, supposedly reducing the huge cost of nuclear power stations.
Other competitors are US companies GE Hitachi, Holtec, NuScale and Westinghouse, and French giant EDF. Contracts could be awarded as early as the spring for reactors that could power the grid by the 2030s.
At today’s GMB Congress in Brighton, the Chancellor will say that Labour is “once again investing in Britain’s renewal, with the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation. This landmark decision is our Plan for Change in action.”
Mr Miliband said:? “We will not accept the status quo of failing to invest in the future and energy insecurity for our country.?
“We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis.
“This is the Government’s clean energy mission in action – investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security.”?
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