Recruiting now
EDF Energy has claimed it could construct a new nuclear power station in Suffolk for around £5bn less than Hinkley Point C by “copying and pasting” to slash pre-construction costs while generating a significant boost for the local economy with the creation of 25,000 jobs. EDF believes that work already carried out for Hinkley Point C could be replicated for Sizewell C with billions saved by using contractors and equipment which have already gone through the approvals process, saving up to 25% on the build cost of Hinkley Point C according to a report in the Times.
Sizewell C would be located north of its sister plant Sizewell B on the Suffolk coast and would be capable of generating enough electricity to supply around five million homes. EDF estimates the 3.2GW power plant will take around 10 years to build once it has planning permission, which it will apply for after a third consultation. Feedback from the second consultation, which finished in February last year, is still being analysed.
Construction of the new plant would require a highly skilled and competent construction workforce with as many as 25,000 jobs created during the construction period with a peak workforce of around 5,600 as well as a long-term legacy of 900 new jobs once the station is operational. Additional staff would be employed during refuelling and maintenance outages. Other jobs would also be created off-site through increased spending and supply chain opportunities.
EDF believes Sizewell C would be one of the biggest, most technologically complex construction projects to be built in the UK, providing an invaluable opportunity for sustained employment and enhanced skills provision for both individuals and businesses in Suffolk and surrounding regional areas.
Simone Rossi, chief executive of energy giant EDF Energy believes Sizewell C will build on the Hinkley experience. It is the project that Rossi believes will cast off the shackles of doubt that have held back the UK’s new nuclear ambitions over the past decade.
He also advocated the development of alternative energies such as wind and solar power, but said that nuclear power "provides jobs and boosts industrial capacity here in Britain on a scale that other technologies cannot".