UK kicks China out of nuclear project — RT Business News
It will cost British taxpayers £700m to buy out Chinese stake in Sizewell C nuclear power station
The British government is withdrawing China General Nuclear (CGN) from the Sizewell C project in what will be the first direct public funding of a new nuclear power plant in the country for more than three decades, according to a statement from the Department for Business and Environment. Energy. and industrial strategy (BEIS).
« The UK government’s investment in Sizewell C will support the continued development of the project… The investment also allows China General Nuclear to exit the project, » he added. the department announced Tuesday.
According to the statement, London plans to invest £679 million ($814 million) in the project, or 50% of the development costs. This will correspond to the amount invested in Sizewell C by the large French electricity company Electricité de France (EDF).
BEIS did not disclose what portion of the investment will go to CGN, but noted that it will include buyout costs, any taxes owed and commercial returns on the company’s work to date.
The Chinese company held a 20% stake in the project under a deal signed in 2015. It was to help finance and develop a total of three nuclear power plants in the UK, being a minority partner with EDF at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C. power stations and lead developer at a plant in Bradwell, Essex.
Hinkley Point C is currently under construction and CGN remains a partner in the project. Sizewell C is in the early stages of development and officials say they will need to attract private investors to further fund the project. So far, no information has been released on the fate of the third plant.
Sizewell C’s announcement came after repeated calls within the UK government to reduce China’s involvement in the country’s energy supply and cut ties with the world’s second-largest economy. On Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the « Golden age » of relations between the United Kingdom and China was « more, » adding that Beijing was posing a “a systemic challenge to our values and interests.
For more stories on economics and finance, visit RT’s business section
You can share this story on social media:
rt
