nuclear-news

Sizewell C will cost more than Hinkley: Is it worth it?

Priced in ‘real’ terms today, the £47.7bn cost ceiling will rise further with inflation,
potentially over £60bn. The total tally for the UK’s latest bet on
nuclear power, Sizewell C, is highly likely to rise above the cost of
Hinkley Point C.

The question is, will the potential savings for low-carbon
power next decade justify the cost? Taken together, the impact of project
overruns and inflation could push up the estimated £38 billion price tag
of the nuclear power project, in 2024 prices, by between almost £10bn and
£20bn or more.

That is because the £47.7bn upper cost threshold set for
the project by government – which Energy Voice reported on the day a
final investment decision was made would be funded by £36.6bn of new debt
finance from the UK National Wealth Fund (NWF) – is a moving target.

Priced in ‘real’ terms today, that cost ceiling will rise further with
inflation, making the true cost of Sizewell C likely to be far greater than
the incomplete nuclear power station in Somerset, despite the fact that as
a replica it was meant to be cheaper due to economies of scale. Independent
analysis from the House of Commons Library shows energy bills would need to
rise to cover the extra spend. SNP Energy spokesperson Graham Leadbitter MP
said: “This toxic overspend now totals £48bn.” A major financier of
the project, the sovereign fund NWF, has conceded that the ultimate cost of
the Suffolk project could balloon well above the £38bn price tag confirmed
by ministers this month, already nearly double the initial £20bn estimate.

 Energy Voice 30th July 2025. https://www.energyvoice.com/all-news/577297/sizewell-c-will-cost-more-than-hinkley-is-it-worth-it/

August 3, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK