LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation has granted a nuclear site licence to the Sizewell C nuclear power project in south-east England, the Sizewell C company said on Tuesday.
It is the first nuclear site licence granted in over a decade. The last one was issued to EDF's Hinkley Point C nuclear plant project in Somerset in 2012.
The project is required to meet conditions attached to the licence covering the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of the plant.
The building of the plant by French energy giant EDF, capable of producing around 3.2 gigawatts of electricity or enough to power around 6 million homes, was approved in July 2022.
"Securing a nuclear site licence is a show of confidence from our nuclear regulator that we have a suitable site, that we can achieve a safe design replicated from Hinkley Point C, and that we have a capable organisation ready to begin major construction work," said Mina Golshan, safety, security and assurance director at Sizewell C.
In January, the UK government said it would invest an extra 1.3 billion pounds in the project, making it the majority shareholder. A process to raise private equity from investors is ongoing.
"Obtaining a nuclear site licence is a significant achievement and should instil further confidence from investors - bringing us another step closer towards reaching a final investment decision this year," said Britain's minister for nuclear and renewables, Andrew Bowie.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Peter Graff)
By Nina Chestney
