huffingtonpost - 14 days ago

Sizewell C power station construction site screen for staff park and ride site, Wickham Market, Suffolk, England, UK. (Photo by: Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Rachel Reeves has agreed to spend £14 billion of taxpayers’ money on a nuclear plant at Sizewell C.The chancellor will announce the move, which is part of her spending review, at the GMB Congress on Tuesday.It is expected to create 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships.Energy secretary Ed Miliband said the project, which will be the first new nuclear plant to open in the UK since 1995, will help to usher in “a golden age of clean energy abundance”.Sizewell C was one of eight potential sites for new nuclear plants identified in 2009, when Miliband was last energy secretary.However, the project was never completed during 14 years of Tory government.It is expected that the plant will come on stream in the 2030s.Reeves said the announcement showed that Labour was “investing in Britian’s renewal”.“We are creating thousands of jobs, kickstarting economic growth and putting more money people’s pockets,” she said.Miliband said: “We will not accept the status quo of failing to invest in the future and energy insecurity for our country.  “We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis. “This is the government’s clean energy mission in action – investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security.”The Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, in Somerset, is under construction and is expected to produce enough power for about six million homes when it opens, but that may not be until 2031.The government is also due to confirm one of Europe’s first small modular reactor programmes and will invest £2.5 billion over five years in fusion energy research as part of plans to boost the UK’s nuclear industry.GMB regional secretary Warren Kenny said: “Nuclear power is essential for clean, affordable, and reliable energy – without new nuclear, there can be no net zero.“Sizewell C will provide thousands of good, skilled, unionised jobs and we look forward to working closely with the Government and Sizewell C to help secure a greener future for this country’s energy sector.”But Alison Downes of the ‘Stop Sizewell C’ group said ministers had not “come clean” about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion.“There still appears to be no final investment decision for Sizewell C, but £14.2 billion in taxpayers’ funding, a decision we condemn and firmly believe the government will come to regret,” she said.Related...Analysis: Rachel Reeves Has Been Left Humiliated By Winter Fuel U-TurnRachel Reeves To Spend Billions In Red Wall In Bid To See Off Reform ThreatRachel Reeves Made A Big Speech But The Bored Workers Behind Her Stole The Show

Latest News

Hashtags:   

Rachel

 | 

Reeves

 | 

Agrees

 | 

Spend

 | 

Billion

 | 

Nuclear

 | 

Plant

 | 

Sources