What is the Sizewell C project and who might benefit?

The recent news about funding the new Sizewell C reactors has raised lots of concerns and questions. Here’s an overview of what’s being proposed, particularly in terms of its impact on local businesses.

What is Sizewell C?

Sizewell C nuclear power station is to be built on the Suffolk coast adjacent to the other Sizewell reactors, Sizewell A (currently being decommissioned) and Sizewell B (still active). 

The site sits between Walberswick and Thorpeness. The Sizewell C nuclear power station will comprise two new European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs). The EPR is a pressurised water reactor design that was developed by a consortium of European engineering groups; the main company responsible for their construction is the French company, EDF.

The Sizewell reactors will be similar to those being built by EDF at Hinkley Point near Bridgwater in Somerset. The EPR design, which is now in its third generation, seeks to enhance safety while providing a more efficient and economical design, using approximately 17% less uranium in production of a kilowatt hour of electricity than older previous generation EPR designs. Incidentally, a kilowatt hour is defined as one kilowatt of power sustained over one hour.

The Sizewell C power station’s two reactors will together output 3,200 MWe (megawatt electrical) which, it is estimated, will meet 7% of the UK’s energy needs.

Sizewell C, which has been at the planning stage for a long time, received development consent in July 2022 and further funding approvals have recently – at the end of August 2022 - been granted to the project by Boris Johnson’s government. It’s been reported that the majority of compulsory purchase orders for the land on which the plant is to be built have been agreed.

What next for Sizewell C? 

If the project goes ahead, electricity production is expected to start in 2031 at the earliest. There has been some controversy surrounding the signing off on this project because it is felt that it ties the hands of successive administrations and commits resources that some might consider better used to address the current energy cost crisis. 

My personal view is that the energy crisis we are in now is caused by a long-term dependence on cheap, imported gas and requires a long-term fix. Nuclear, in spite of its well-documented downsides, is bound to be part of a mix of energy sources, including solar and other renewables, which will be needed as we wean ourselves off reliance on hydrocarbons in response to global climate change.

The Sizewell C project is likely to be the largest construction project in East Anglia for some years. It is estimated that the project and its associated sub-projects (such as infrastructure and the creation of the Sizewell C village) will bring in £4.5 billion of investment to the region’s businesses.

How can Birkett Long help?

At Birkett Long we have a great deal of experience in dealing with infrastructure, technology and engineering projects. We have a dedicated technology and patents team as well as a specialist construction team. We are here to help your company seize the opportunities generated by this once-in-a-generation project through advising on your contribution and structuring positive relationships with others.

Please email us at [email protected] or call us on 01206 217300 if you would like to talk to us about this or any other construction related project.