United Kingdom authorizes construction of a new nuclear plant

LONDON, July 20 (.). – The British government said on Wednesday it had authorized the construction of a new nuclear plant with an investment of around £20,000 million (about £23,500) off the coast of Suffolk County in the south-east of the United Kingdom. Is. million euros).

The construction project of the “Sizewell C” plant will be financed mainly by the French power company EDF (EPA: ) with experience in other nuclear power plants in the country.

According to an official statement, the British Minister of Business Strategy, Energy and Industry, Quasi Quarteng, confirmed today that he has given permission for the development of “Sizewell C”, which will be built next to the “Sizewell B” plant.

The EDF company had already estimated that the construction of the new plant with two nuclear reactors would generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to assume 7% of the United Kingdom’s energy needs.

The Government of London has committed to contribute 100 million pounds (117.5 million euros) to the project, while reserving a 20% stake in “Sizewell C”.

Its construction has been rejected by environmental groups, who believe that the expansion of this energy sector would be too slow and costly.

They also condemn that the presence of nuclear plants in the area could threaten the existence of more than 6,000 species of animals in the Minsmere Nature Reserve in Suffolk County.

“‘Sizewell C’ represents everything wrong with energy policy. A nuclear company plagued by problems, with failing reactors and about to be nationalized, has secured a sealed deal behind closed doors that could cut energy bills.” There will be an additional cost.” The Greenpeace organization condemned it in a note today.

Its chief scientist in the UK, Doug Parr, warned that the plant would leave future generations with “uncontrolled waste” and “an expensive project”, while the “destruction” of the nature reserve is an “undesirable bonus”.

“Instead of spending time and money on this bogus energy solution, the government should do everything possible to make cheap, clean and safe renewable energy the backbone of our energy system,” the activist said.

In 2013, the British executive closed an agreement with EDF to build two reactors at the “Hinckley Point C” plant in Somerset (south west England), amid the high cost of electricity at the time and controversy over the type’s safety. . plants.

That state-of-the-art plant was the first to be built in the UK since “Sizewell B” in 1995 and the first in the world after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.