Investors snub Sizewell C nuclear power station despite ‘sustainable’ status
The government is struggling to attract investors to the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power station, according to a report.
Hunt proposed giving the project sustainable status to attract green-minded investors, and ministers have already rejigged nuclear plant funding models to offer more of an up-front reward to investors.
But fund managers at Legal & General and Aviva both said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s plans in the spring budget had not altered their positions, the Telegraph said.
“Our stance hasn’t changed,” a Legal & General Capital spokesperson told the Telegraph.
An Aviva spokesperson told them the firm had “nothing to add” to chairman George Culmer’s comments that there was “ongoing debate” over nuclear waste environmental issues.
NatWest and the BT Pension Scheme previously told pressure group Stop Sizewell C that they would not support it, and a source told the Telegraph large infrastructure was “risky”.
Nuclear plant Hinkley Point C is set to open in 2027, at the earliest, when all bar one of the UK’s existing power stations will have shut.
Developer EDF is also working on Sizewell C, which is set to cost between £20-30bn, with the government contributing £800m so far.
The hunt for investors stepped up after China General Nuclear was bought out by the UK government over security fears.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman told the Telegraph said: “New nuclear is key to our long-term energy security… we are working closely with the project company to attract new finance.”