Three Firms Keen to Invest in Sizewell C N-Plant

Global investors including French energy major EDF, Canadian asset management firm Brookfield Corporation and the UK’s Centrica are making a beeline to park their funds in the Sizewell C Nuclear Plant in Suffolk, which is located in the UK.

The UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said that EDF has confirmed it will take a 12.5% stake in the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, in addition to the 16.2% stake it already holds.

Brookfield Corporation is also keen to acquire more than 20% stake in the nuclear plant and has been in discussions with the UK government to become the biggest single private investor after the UK government, which is expected to retain majority control, the London-based Financial Times reported.

The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was clear there will be no more dithering and delay on Sizewell C – and this investment takes us a step closer to the benefits it will bring to the British people.

“Lower energy bills, thousands more jobs and apprenticeships, and better energy security – this is not only a vote of confidence in the UK as an investment destination, it is our Plan for Change in action,” he said.

Starmer is expected to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday. The two country leaders are expected to discuss energy and other shared priorities.

It may be recalled that the UK government has confirmed funding to the tune of $19.31 billion last month for Sizewell C, which energy secretary Ed Miliband said would mark a “golden age” of nuclear power.

The UK Government has said that it was targeting a final investment decision (FID) on the nuclear power station this summer. A twin nuclear energy project in Somerset, Hinkley Point C, is estimated to have exceeded $54.39 billion of costs after years of delay.

In January this year, the French auditor ordered EDF to refinance Hinkley C before finalising an investment in Sizewell C. France’s export credit agency Bpifrance will provide a $6.8 billion debt guarantee for Sizewell C, which will add to commercial bank lending for the project, the UK government said.

Centrica

The Financial Times has also reported that British Gas owner Centrica could take a stake of about 15% in the project.

Sizewell C will be only the second new nuclear plant built in recent history in Britain, following Hinkley Point C, owned by EDF. The plant is being built in Somerset but has been heavily delayed and is well over budget and EDF said that it might not be finished until 2031.

The plant, which has been under construction since 2016, was initially expected to cost $24.48 billion. Last year, the French energy firm said that it is expected to cost up to $47.59 billion.

EDF had originally planned to build Sizewell C alongside China’s state nuclear developer China General Nuclear Power Group, which also holds a stake in the Hinkley Point C project, but its partner was forced to step back from the project by the UK government on security grounds.