UK government to spend $19bn on new power plant

The British government said Tuesday that it would spend as much as £14.2 billion, or about $19 billion, on constructing a nuclear power station, a project that is expected to create 10,000 jobs and help light up 6 million homes.

- STANLEY REED

The decision likely means that the giant plant called Sizewell C, whose site on the east Suffolk coastline was first identified by the government in 2009, will receive a go-ahead. Much of the funding will come from the government.

EDF, the French state-owned energy group, will build the plant. According to a recent filing, it owns 12% of the project, with the British government holding the rest. Britain hopes to attract other funding.

Nuclear power plants can cost tens of billions of dollars to build, but they have regained favour in recent years in Britain and elsewhere because they produce large volumes of steady electric power with few emissions. The plants are also viewed as a way to enhance energy security.

The emergence of artificial intelligence, with the growing demand for data centres to run those systems, has also raised the appeal of nuclear energy.