Third round of public consultation announced for Sizewell C
EDF Energy’s CEO, Simone Rossi, has announced that a third round of public consultation for a new nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk will begin in January 2019.
Mr Rossi said a planning application for Sizewell C could be submitted in 2020 and that the ideal time for construction to begin would be at the end of 2021.
EDF Energy is planning to build Sizewell C as a follow-on project to Hinkley Point C in Somerset where more than 3,300 people are working on the construction site. Hinkley Point C is making good progress towards its next milestone in 2019 - the completion of the 4,500 tonne concrete platform on which the reactor buildings sit.
In a keynote speech at the annual Energy UK conference, Mr Rossi said that Hinkley Point C is on track and learning lessons from other new nuclear projects. By being a close copy of Hinkley Point, he said, Sizewell C could be built at significantly lower cost.
“We have a great opportunity at Sizewell C to build a replica which would allow us to reduce the design costs. It would also reduce the development costs and we would profit from a skilled and experienced supply chain as well as lower qualification costs and paper work. All of that means a reduction in construction costs of about 20% which will eventually flow through to consumers.”
Mr Rossi explained that reducing the cost of finance of the project could provide further savings. He said this could be achieved by using a Regulated Asset Base funding model (RAB) which is a ‘tried and tested’ way of delivering public infrastructure.
Outlining EDF Energy’s vision for the future energy mix, Mr Rossi said nuclear should continue to provide around 20%-25% of Britain’s low carbon electricity needs. In order to meet our climate commitments, he said, the amount of renewables should double to 60% as gas is reduced and coal closes.
Mr Rossi told the conference that to achieve the biggest savings in construction costs, Sizewell C needed to be built soon after Hinkley Point C.
“There is an optimal distance between the two projects which is about five years. Hinkley Point construction started at the end of 2016 and so the best moment to start construction at Sizewell C is at the end of 2021. The further we wait, the lower the construction benefits will be because the supply chain may not be the same and skills could be forgotten.”
If Sizewell C gets the go-ahead, it will provide 6 million homes with affordable, reliable, low carbon electricity. Mr Rossi said Sizewell C would become an engine for economic growth in the East of England and could generate around 25,000 job opportunities during construction.
EDF Energy has already completed two stages of public consultation for Sizewell C. The third period of consultation will run until March after which an application will be submitted for a development consent order (DCO).
For more information
Ben Geoghegan
Senior External Communications Manager
(M) +44 (0)7736 480205
ben.geoghegan@edfenergy.com
About EDF
EDF is helping Britain achieve Net Zero by leading the transition to a cleaner, low emission, electric future and tackling climate change. It is the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity(1) and supplies millions of customers with electricity and gas.
It generates low carbon electricity from five nuclear power stations and more than thirty onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms*.
EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and there are advanced plans for a replica at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes.
EDF is one of the UK’s largest investors in renewables, with more than 1GW of renewable generation in operation and over 4GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage. We are constructing our largest offshore wind farm in Britain – the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe project in Scotland.
EDF is helping its customers, both in business and at home, take their first steps to sustainably powering their lives. Whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity, selling energy back to the grid or installing a heat pump. EDF is one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Imtech, is one of the largest technical service providers in the UK and Ireland.
EDF is part of EDF Group, the world’s biggest electricity generator. In the UK, the company employs around 11,000 people at locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
*EDF is continuing to operate its last coal power station until 31 March 2023 at the request of Government to support security of supply over winter.