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French energy company EDF will invest £1.1bn in the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, the UK and France announced on the first day of a state visit to the UK by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
The company will take a 12.5% stake in the nuclear project, alongside a previously announced £14.2bn investment by the UK government, which has a majority stake.
EDF, which is owned by the French government, had a 16.2% stake in the project at the end of last year, but this has gradually fallen over the last six months as the UK government has acted as the sole source of funding, the company said.
Its stake in the project is now at the lower end of the 10-19.99% range that EDF initially guided in February.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said EDF’s investment would bring “lower energy bills, thousands more jobs and apprenticeships, and better energy security”.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said it would deliver “a golden age of new nuclear to protect family finances and boost energy security”.
“This agreement is a landmark moment in the UK and France’s longstanding partnership in civil nuclear, and a testament to our countries’ strong relationship,” he said.
The Canadian investor Brookfield Corporation is set to become the biggest single private investor in Sizewell C, according to the Financial Times (FT).
The FT reported that Brookfield was in discussions with the UK government about taking a stake of more than 20% in the project. This would make it the biggest shareholder after the UK government, which is expected to retain majority control.
The newspaper has also reported that British Gas owner Centrica could take a stake of about 15% in the project.
While the government thinks the power station could support 10,000 jobs at peak construction and create 1,500 apprenticeships, it has been met with resistance from some green campaigners who question the environmental footprint and economic viability of nuclear power.
Alison Downes, of the campaign group Stop Sizewell C, criticised EDF’s “very minor stake in Sizewell C”.
“Such reliance on France for so lengthy and uncertain a project delivery undermines UK energy security. With much of the expensive ‘kit’ for Sizewell C being constructed in France, who does this project really benefit?” she said.
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.
In 2007, EDF predicted that electricity from Hinkley Point C would be cooking Christmas turkeys in 2017, but the company said last year that the station might not be finished until 2031.
The plant, which has been under construction since 2016, was initially expected to cost £18bn. Last year, EDF said it expected it to cost up to £35bn.
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.
Centrica and Brookfield declined to comment.
