GMB calls for clarity over Sizewell C funding
The energy workers union has today called on the government to end the uncertainty over the future of Sizewell C nuclear plant after reports emerged that ministers were looking to end China’s involvement in the project.
GMB union said that if the government were to do so, it should lay out alternative funding arrangements for the £20bn plant by the autumn.
At the moment, state-owned China General Nuclear (CGN) is set to pay for a fifth of the new plant, with French giant EDF paying for the rest.
But amid heightened security concerns and growing discontent with China’s treatment of both Hong Kong and the Uighur minority group in Xinjiang, the FT reported that Boris Johnson was looking for ways to remove CGN from the project.
The government has been in talks with EDF for months about funding the plant, while the utility has repeatedly signalled its interest in third party investors joining the project.
GMB said that funding needs to be in place for the construction phase of the project by the autumn, or the whole scheme is at risk of collapsing.
Failure to do so would put 25,000 jobs involved in the construction of Sizewell in jeopardy, it added.
Charlotte Childs, GMB National Officer, said: “If Ministers are set to block China’s involvement, they need to tell us who is going to pay for it.
“We need urgent clarity on how the funding mechanism will work by the autumn – otherwise the whole project could collapse.
“Not only would that jeopardise the UK’s energy future and net zero targets but would risk the 25,000 jobs Sizewell C would create.
“The Government must step in with a credible alternative to CGN funding that creates a low risk and affordable investment model for third parties, taking a public stake in key projects that will create a clear path to net zero.”
The decision to block CGN’s access to the UK’s nuclear projects has met with praise from some quarters, though others have raised concerns as to what it means for the country’s nuclear future.
At the moment, all but one of the UK’s existing nuclear fleet will be in decommissioning by 2030, with just one plant – Hinkley Point C in Somerset – being built to replace the lost capacity.