Sizewell C is the answer to the UK’s economic, climate and energy woes

Given the failure and disaster that was Trussonomics, it is hardly surprising that the new government is considering spending cuts. Yet they are also looking at cutting capital spending on infrastructure, which is misreading the economic lessons of September and potentially creating long-term problems. The current government risks repeating the mistakes of previous ones by kicking the energy can down the road, yet again.

For all his faults, Boris Johnson recognised that getting the United Kingdom’s energy mix right was vital to lowering the UK’s carbon emissions and limiting exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices. The government’s backing for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant is a key part of this agenda, one which Rishi Sunak has previously backed and even criticised Labour for not advancing when they were in office. Let’s hope this government doesn’t U-turn from their position last Friday, when they denied rumours that the project was being scrapped.

Because had Labour taken the decision to build Hinkley Point C nuclear power station back in 2007 when it originally argued in favour of new nuclear being part of the UK’s energy mix, that station would already be online, on its way to generating 7 per cent of the UK’s power and replacing more of the gas that is costing the economy dearly.

There are those that like to portray the drive for net zero as being an expensive policy that will cost consumers dearly. However, the current energy crisis shows the opposite is true. If we want to get fossil fuels out of our energy system, we need to plan now for what we want to see in 15 to 20 years’ time.

Despite the financial pressures the government is under, the adverse market reaction to Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget was in response to funding in-year expenditures from borrowing. Not from funding infrastructure, which markets typically regard as entirely justifiable given it encourages long-term growth. Jeremy Hunt recognises this himself as he told the House of Commons on 17 October: “I do not believe that it is possible to have a long-term, credible economic growth strategy that does not recognise the vital importance of capital spending.”

The Bank of England also pointed out that it expects a recession in the UK from next year. The best possible way to counter this is to invest capital expenditure to transform the UK’s energy infrastructure to meet the challenge of climate change and the Russian state’s energy blackmail.

The winner from building Sizewell C will be the thousands of people who benefit from high-skilled and high-paid jobs across the UK (as the supply chain would be geographically spread). The only winner from cancellation would be Vladimir Putin.

Delayed decision-making on Sizewell C will also only increase costs. Yes, it is true that a delay of two or three years would put off costs. However, without a green light for the project soon from Rishi Sunak’s government, the workforce currently building Hinkley Point C, which is estimated to be 8,500 workers, would disperse. Giving the final go-ahead now would allow those workers who have already built an identical plant to transfer to Suffolk as the sections they work on in Somerset are completed. There are clearly cost savings from using an existing trained workforce.

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Finally, the ultimate long-term objective is to achieve net zero by 2050. Carbon-Free Europe, launched by a Washington DC-based think tank Third Way, demonstrated in their modelling that it is very difficult and much more expensive to try to achieve this by using renewables alone. Indeed, it is clear we need to use all available low-carbon technologies to achieve net zero and ensure a reliable, affordable energy system. Third Way’s analysis shows the optimal electricity mix for the UK in 2050 would be 51 per cent wind, 39 per cent nuclear, 9 per cent solar, and 1 per cent gas (with carbon capture and storage). The Committee on Climate Change also recognises that net zero needs new nuclear to maximise the chances of delivery.

It is clear that Sizewell C will deliver secure high-skilled jobs, benefit the overall economy at a time when recession looms, lower our long-term dependence on fossil fuels, bring costs down for consumers as a dictator attempts to hold Europe hostage, and keep the UK on track to deliver net zero by 2050.

Lindsey Walter is Director of International Policy for Third Way’s Climate and Energy Program and Co-founder of Carbon-Free Europe