Sizewell C reports project progress to parliament

Friday, 31 January 2025

The update delivered to MPs by Sizewell C - majority owned by the government - outlines the progress made since the project received its Development Consent Order (DCO) one year ago. It was delivered by Julia Pyke and Nigel Cann, Sizewell C's joint managing directors, at the beginning of Nuclear Week in Parliament.

The MPs also heard that independent due diligence commissioned for the HSBC bank by consultancy firm Enco praised the project's progress, stating that "Sizewell C is likely the best prepared nuclear project in modern nuclear history".

The independent assessment concluded: "The Sizewell C project has high chances of avoiding pitfalls that led to a significant schedule and cost overruns on many nuclear projects, including those with EPR reactor models."

The EDF-led plan is for Sizewell C to feature two EPRs producing 3.2 GW of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of around six million homes for at least 60 years. It would be a similar design to the two-unit plant being built at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, with the aim of building it more quickly and at lower cost as a result of the experience gained from what is the first new nuclear construction project in the UK for about three decades.

The update noted the project is demonstrating the "game-changing benefits" of replicating Hinkley Point C's reactor design, with GBP1 billion (USD1.2 billion) of cost savings identified so far through innovation and replication.

MPs were told that contracts worth GBP2.5 billion have already been agreed with 290 suppliers across the UK. The project will eventually support over 70,000 jobs across the UK, and generate income for over 2000 UK-based suppliers, with 90% of the supply chain benefits felt in the UK. 1000 people are now employed on site, with a 60% female executive team. Sizewell C's apprenticeship recruitment has been 50% female since the programme began in 2021. The workforce is currently over 40% female. The project will generate around GBP2.92 of economic value for every GBP1 invested during construction and will create over GBP100 billion of value for the UK over the lifecycle of the project.

Commenting on the update, Pyke and Cann said: "Sizewell C is already a massive driver of growth in the UK, and the team has made extraordinary progress in the year since we received permission to begin construction.

"Sizewell C is on time and on budget and has a stable cost base. That's in no small part because we're using exactly the same reactor design as Hinkley Point C, which means we've benefitted from the research and innovation already done there.

"Sizewell C is the most important energy project that the UK is likely to undertake in the next two decades, and its benefits will be felt in every constituency across the country."

The project received an additional GBP2.7 billion in funding from the government in the 2024 Budget and is due to receive its Final Investment Decision in the upcoming Spending Review.