We are building a low-carbon nuclear power station
We are building a low-carbon nuclear power stationSizewell C will supply 6 million homes with low-carbon electricity. Our power station will play a key role in the UK’s transition to Net Zero and will make Britain more energy secure.
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See Spring’s icons on p4 of the sustainability dochttps://www.sizewellc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Sustainability_at_SZC_FINAL_v2.pdf.
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Why nuclear?
To get to Net Zero, the UK will need around four times the amount of low-carbon energy it uses today.
While most of the growing demand for low-carbon electricity will likely be met by renewables like wind and solar power, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow.
When it comes to land, large-scale nuclear power provides clean energy on a fraction of the land you would need to produce the same amount of energy from wind and solar.
The UK needs an energy solution that is clean, affordable, works whatever the weather and doesn’t take up lots of space: that solution is nuclear.
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Licenced and ready to go
In a major step for our project and the UK’s nuclear industry, Sizewell C was granted a nuclear site licence by the Office of Nuclear Regulation in May 2024. This was the first such licence to be given to a nuclear project in more than a decade.
As a licensee, Sizewell C has a legal responsibility to comply with a range of health and safety legislation and nuclear security regulations.
In addition, the project needs to meet 36 conditions attached to the licence, which cover the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of the plant.
Our technology
Animation slider on EPR technology and how Sizewell C will generate electricity. Scripted by Rebecca, animated by Lorna. Lorna and Liz have the script.
Why not build an SMR instead?
Sizewell C power station will have two large-scale nuclear reactors capable of generating 3.2GW of electricity. Small modular reactors (SMRs) also have nuclear reactors, but these are only designed to generate up to 300MW of electricity. Whether it’s a large-scale plant like Sizewell C or an SMR, the reactors are an essential part of the components needed to generate electricity from nuclear. However, there are some big differences between Sizewell C and proposed SMRs:
Sizewell C is the only new nuclear project in the UK with permission to get building today
Sizewell C is the only new nuclear project in the UK with planning approval from regulators and a nuclear site licence
Sizewell C benefits from being a second-of-a-kind nuclear project (with the first being Hinkley Point C in Somerset). We’re demonstrating that it’s cheaper and quicker to copy something that already exists than to design and build from scratch. No SMRs have ever been built in Britain and we’re the only new nuclear power project delivering the lower financing and construction costs that come through replication.
Reaching Net Zero by 2050 means the UK needs to build approved designs that are available today.