Business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has granted a development consent order for the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.
The decision goes against the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate, which raised concerns over environmental impacts and the lack of clarity over the permanent water supply for the plant. The secretary of state said the “very substantial and urgent need for the proposal outweighs the harms.”
Sizewell C – the sister project for the Hinkley Point C power station already under construction in Somerset – is joint venture between French energy company EDF and Chinese nuclear operator CGN.
However, the government is eventually expected to take CGN’s 20% stake by exercising an option acquired as part of a £100 million investment in the project in January.
EDF applied for a development consent order for Sizewell C in May 2020. Kwarteng was originally due to make a decision on the application by May of this year, but it was delayed twice, most recently in June.
Sizewell C’s chief planning officer, Carly Vince, said: “I am delighted that, after months of careful consideration, the government has given planning consent for Sizewell C. It is a big endorsement of our proposals and supports our view that this is the right project in the right place.
“I would like to thank the thousands of people in East Suffolk who contributed to our consultation sessions and the public examination. The input of residents, local authorities, environmental groups and many others has helped us to improve our plans.
“We will continue to work closely with them to make sure we minimise the impacts of construction and maximise the huge opportunities for the area.”
Last month, the government cleared Sizewell C to become the first nuclear project to be financed under the regulated asset base (RAB) model, which has already been used to fund other large infrastructure project such as the Thames Tideway super sewer. The RAB model is intended to minimise financing costs by allowing developers to begin receiving payments from consumers whilst the project is being built.
Julia Pyke, Sizewell C’s financing director, said: “Energy costs will be lower with nuclear in the mix, so today’s decision is good news for bill-payers. The tried and tested funding arrangement we are proposing means that, by paying a small amount during construction, consumers will benefit in the long-term.”
EDF said negotiations with the governments over funding are still ongoing and a final investment decision is expected to be made in 2023.
The Sizewell C nuclear power station would be built alongside Sizewell A, which is undergoing decommissioning following the completion of defuelling in 2014, and Sizewell B, which is still operating and is currently scheduled to close in 2035. In April, EDF announced it was looking to extend the life of Sizewell B to 2055.
The secretary of state’s order grants consent for the construction and operation of two UK European Pressurised Reactor units – the same type being built at Hinkley Point C – with a combined capacity of 3,340MW.
Kwarteng approved the project despite Northumbrian Water stating that it would be unable to meet the long-term water demand for the power station using existing resources and there being no assured permanent water supply identified at the point of examination.
According to the decision letter, Northumbrian is considering a number of different options, including demand management; import from Anglian Water’s region; nitrate removal at the Barsham wastewater treatment works; effluent reuse and desalination; and longer-term winter storage reservoirs.
Alongside EDF’s “fall back” of its own permanent desalination plant, the letter said these “represent potential viable solutions” to the issue, adding: “The secretary of state is therefore content that if consent is granted for the development, there is a reasonable level of certainty that a permanent water supply solution can be found before the first reactor is commissioned.”
Responding to decision, local campaign group Stop Sizewell C said in a statement: “The government has been forced to ram through a damaging project to shore up its energy strategy but the fact that the Planning Inspectorate recommended Sizewell C be refused consent is a huge victory for all of us.
“The wrong decision has been made but it’s not the end of our campaign to stop Sizewell C. Not only will we be looking closely at appealing this decision, we’ll continue to challenge every aspect of Sizewell C, because – whether it is the impact on consumers, the massive costs and delays, the outstanding technical questions or the environmental impacts – it remains a very bad risk.”
It continued: “What’s left of Boris Johnson’s administration should desist from throwing any more cash at Sizewell C or making a government investment decision. It’s deeply concerning, given that households will have to pay for this massively expensive project in times of such hardship, that no one in government is prepared to come clean about how much it will cost to build.
“How can it be a good use of UK taxpayers funds to support a project promoted by a foreign company having to undergo emergency nationalisation because its own finances are compromised by disastrous nuclear new builds?”