A new nuclear power station on the east coast of England will be given a £14.2 billion boost to finally get it off the ground.
Sizewell C in Suffolk has been mooted as the site of a new facility since at least 2009, when Ed Miliband identified it in his role as the Energy Secretary in the previous Labour government.
A decade and a half later, after returning to the same role, Miliband has secured funding from Chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of her major spending review.
He said the move would lead to ‘lower bills and good jobs for energy security’.
The new power station at Sizewell would help fill the gaps left as all the UK’s existing nuclear plants, except Sizewell B, are gradually phased out by the mid-2030s.
Miliband said: ‘We will not accept the status quo of failing to invest in the future and energy insecurity for our country.
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‘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.’
Sizewell C is described as a ‘sister project’ to Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is currently under construction and is set to become the first new nuclear power station in the UK since 1995.
However, building work at Hinkley Point is far behind schedule and the budget for the project has ballooned massively since it began in 2017.
It is now expected to become operational around 2030.
Like Hinkley Point C, it is expected that Sizewell C will be jointly owned by the British government and French energy giant EDF.
Campaign groups have said the construction of the new facility would have a ‘devastating impact’ on its stretch of the Suffolk coast, which is susceptible to erosion.
It is set to be built on a platform seven metres above sea level to protect it from the sea as it rises due to climate change.
The Labour government has also backed the development of small modular reactors to supply nuclear-sourced power to millions of homes and power-hungry sites like AI data centres.
Once all these projects are in operation, they will ‘deliver more new nuclear to grid than over the previous half century combined’, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Reeves, who will announce the Sizewell C funding later today at the GMB Union Congress, said: ‘Today we are once again investing in Britain’s renewal, with the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation.
‘This landmark decision is our Plan for Change in action.
‘We are creating thousands of jobs, kickstarting economic growth and putting more money people’s pockets.’
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