Sizewell C could be back on agenda

A NEW nuclear power station for the Suffolk coast could be back on the agenda by the end of the week, it emerged today.

And a future Sizewell C plant could be run by the French national power company EDF - which already owns and operates 58 nuclear plants in its own country.

The boss of EDF - which owns and operates electricity cables throughout East Anglia - outlined his company's plans in its submission to the government's energy review.

Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, insisted that any new nuclear plants would be safe and would be more environmentally-friendly than many other forms of power generation.

He said: “The British public rightly will want to know that they can trust us to deliver new nuclear safely, responsibly and economically.

“It is essential that the nuclear industry has a culture which is based on honesty and transparency. A strong safety culture is fundamental to our business model.”

EDF has been involved in talks with British Energy, which operates most of the existing British nuclear stations including Sizewell B, about the future of the industry.

But a spokesman for EDF could not say whether it would enter a partnership with British Energy - which owns land which has been earmarked for a new power station at Sizewell - to build a new plant on the Suffolk coast.

He said: “It remains very early in the process - too early to identify any sites.”

A spokesman for Greenpeace said it expected the government to give the green light for more nuclear stations because it had been successfully lobbied by the nuclear industry, including EDF.

He said: “We expect the first two sites to be approved by the government to be Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell C. But it remains to be seen which companies will build and operate them.”

Did you know?

EDF Energy owns and maintains power networks throughout East Anglia and the London region. The company is owned by the French Government - its official title is Electricité de France.