£14.2bn Government Investment in Sizewell C
Commitment: Invest £14.2 billion of public funding to support the development and construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.
Owner: HMT / DESNZ / Sizewell C Ltd
Target date: Construction ongoing; operational target: mid-2030s (not within Clean Power 2030 window)
Metric: Government equity/funding investment; construction milestones.
Status: active
Context
Sizewell C is a proposed 3.2GW pressurised water reactor (PWR) at the existing Sizewell site in Suffolk. It is the government’s primary large-scale nuclear commitment and is designed to provide firm baseload electricity complementing variable renewables.
Sizewell C will not contribute to the 95% clean electricity target by 2030 — its operational date is expected in the mid-2030s. It is, however, critical to the long-term energy security and decarbonisation picture beyond 2030.
Funding structure
- Government: £14.2bn equity/public investment
- Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model: cost and risk shared between government, developers, and consumers during construction
- EDF / Sizewell C Ltd: construction and operation
The RAB model — approved through the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022 — allows developers to receive income from electricity bill payers during construction, reducing financing costs for large-scale nuclear.
Timeline
Sizewell C is a multi-decade project:
- 2025-2030: Development Consent Order (DCO); detailed design; supply chain mobilisation
- 2030s: Construction
- Mid-2030s: First power
Connection to skills tension
The Sizewell C supply chain requires specialist nuclear construction skills. The skills-shortage-cross-sector tension applies: nuclear engineering skills overlap with clean energy construction and defence nuclear enterprise workforce needs.
Relationship to Clean Power 2030
Clean Power 2030 (95% clean electricity by 2030) must be delivered by offshore wind, solar, onshore wind, and storage — Sizewell C does not contribute. The investment is a long-term bet on firm low-carbon baseload alongside a renewables-dominated grid.