Under the leadership of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the U.K. plans to invest $700 million in a French power plant.
Key details
Johnson’s plan to invest in Electricite de France SA’s Sizewell C nuclear project should be completed in the coming weeks.
The deal will ensure another source of power for the U.K. The country already has around $1.7 billion in funds set aside for new nuclear power sources. The funding for the Sizewell C plant will come from this source.
The Sizewell C is expected to cost somewhere around $20 billion and be completed in 2035.
Why it’s news
This is the first major step the U.K. has taken to secure its own source of electricity since the war in Ukraine started earlier this year.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many countries in Europe have suffered energy shortages. Household energy prices in the UK are predicted to be triple their typical rates this winter.
Amping up the use of nuclear power is one way Britain is looking to cut costs, though it won’t provide any immediate relief.
A new power plant won’t alleviate the country’s energy problems right away, but it does bring the country closer to its goal of tripling its nuclear capacity by 2050. When completed, the plant will power 6 million homes for the next 60 years.
Backing it up a bit
Even with renewable resources such as wind and solar available, those resources can’t fully support the energy demands of the world. As Russia restricts access to natural gas, countries are now reconsidering the benefits of nuclear energy.
Demand for electricity went up 6% last year, according to The New York Times. Both Germany and California have recently made plans to extend the lives of nuclear power plants scheduled to be shut down.
