Sizewell C
Posted: 4th September 2022
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities were dismayed to hear Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday (1 September) describing the process of taking forward the astronomically-expensive and complex Sizewell C nuclear project as equivalent to ordering a fast-food takeaway. Visiting Suffolk on one of his last outings in his final days in office, Johnson has also confessed that a children’s book had been the inspiration behind his enthusiasm for nuclear power. Councillor David Blackburn, Chair of the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities, said: “Boris Johnson has demonstrated big-time that he is living in an alternate reality with his Sizewell speech. When it comes to his endorsement of large-scale engineering projects his track-record isn’t great, and it is worrying that his technical knowledge of nuclear power appears limited to the elementary information contained in a Ladybird book intended for children.
NFLA 2nd Sept 2022
Is Sizewell C actually going to be built? Boris Johnson has said negotiations could be finalised in the coming weeks. It was going to be the last major transgression of Boris Johnson’s premiership. The Prime Minister had been widely expected this week to sign off on plans for the government to take a stake in the controversial development of Sizewell C, a new nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coastline. The pledge would have broken with the convention that outgoing prime ministers avoid making new funding commitments but Johnson, true to form, appeared ready to press on. Yet when the opportunity came, the Prime Minister took a different approach. Rather than revealing that the state was prepared to acquire 20 per cent of the development, which is predicted to cost more than £20bn, Johnson committed £700m to its construction from an existing funding pot. The next government will have to commit significantly more – as much as £6bn – if it is to secure a deal with the French energy giant EDF and other investors to kickstart the build. Nevertheless, Johnson struck an optimistic tone in his speech on Thursday (1 September). “In the course of the next few weeks I am absolutely confident that it will get over the line,” he said at Sizewell. “Let’s think about the future. Let’s think about our kids and our grandchildren, about the next generation. So I say to you, with the prophetic candour and clarity of one who is about to hand over the torch of office, I say go nuclear and go large and go with Sizewell C.” Ministers are promising not only to invest taxpayer money up front, but also levy an extra fee on consumers’ energy bills to ensure EDF starts earning a return on its investment before the power station comes online. This has led to a major row over how much consumers will be expected to contribute towards the project. The government has said the surcharge will peak at £1 a month for a typical household, but campaigners contend that this is based on the most optimistic scenario and that payments could be three times higher.
New Statesman 2nd Sept 2022
A campaign group has begun a legal challenge of the government’s decision to grant Sizewell C planning permission on the same day Boris Johnson pledged £700million to the project. Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) issued judicial review proceedings in the High Court following an unsatisfactory response to their pre-action protocol letter sent to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng at the beginning of August.
East Anglian Daily Times 2nd Sept 2022
‘Failed French company technology’ blights Boris Johnson’s £700m nuclear power dream
BORIS Johnson’s nuclear power dream is dependent on “failed French technology”, an economist has warned after the outgoing Prime Minister pledged £700 million in taxpayers’ cash for the Sizewell C project.
Express 1st Sept 2022
Letter: Nuclear power is neither a long-term nor short-term solution to our energy crisis. Sizewell C (reports, Sep 1 & 2) will take many years to construct before it comes on line, and there is no satisfactory method of disposing of nuclear waste at the end of its useful life. In the short term the safety of nuclear power stations is doubtful: there have already been at least three accidents, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, not to mention great uncertainty at Zaporizhzhia, occupied since March by Russian forces in Ukraine. There are much more suitable means of producing power that are already available to us, such as wind and solar. Wind turbines produced 24 per cent of our total electricity generation in 2020, and solar panel farms are also blossoming. Studies have taken place into the use of tidal power in Wales, the Shetlands and Cumbria. It would far more beneficial to the planet if the £700 million of public money that the prime minister has pledged towards Sizewell C could be diverted to these ends.
Times 3rd Sept 2022
A CAMPAIGN GROUP HAS ISSUED LEGAL PROCEEDINGS against the government, challenging its decision to allow for the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station to go ahead against the advice of the planning Examining Authority. Together Against Sizewell C Limited (TASC) has issued the judicial review proceedings in the High Court following an unsatisfactory response to their pre-action protocol letter sent to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng at the beginning of August.
Ekklesia 3rd Sept 2022
Everything you need to know about Sizewell C as PM commits £700m to project. It can be difficult to navigate the details surrounding Sizewell C, so here’s a round-up of all the key information you need to know.
Suffolk Live 2nd Sept 2022
Opponents of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant said Bill Turnbull’s legacy as an “amazing friend and supporter” of their cause will inspire them to “fight on” against plans for the new reactor. The former BBC Breakfast presenter’s death was announced on Thursday – the same day that Boris Johnson used his final policy speech to promote the nuclear scheme and pledged £700m of taxpayers’ money towards it. The reactor is expected to be built by energy firm EDF, close to Mr Turnbull’s home town of Theberton in Suffolk. During the planning phase, Mr Turnbull gave a passionate speech warning of the “awful devastation” the project would have on the area. Protest group Stop Sizewell C said it was “devastated” by the newsreader’s death, describing him as an “amazing friend and supporter” whose legacy would inspire the group to further oppose the project.
ITV 2nd Sept 2022