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Bilfinger UK were delighted to welcome Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North to our Birchwood headquarters yesterday to discuss the Sizewell C nuclear new build project.

As a business in the Engineering Construction sector and also a member of the new Sizewell C Consortium the meeting discussed how business and Government can work together in order to get the project approved whilst also setting out the positive and sustainable impact this will have on both the industry, our business and the wider economy.

Sizewell C presents a unique opportunity to contribute to a swift and green recovery as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. It is a British project delivered by British suppliers, ready to create 25,000 new job opportunities and 1,000 new apprenticeships. The project will deliver a £14 billion stimulus for the whole national economy. 90% of the nuclear industry is based outside London, including here in Warrington.

Many of these jobs will be highly skilled and help deliver an expert domestic nuclear supply chain, capable of building low-carbon, secure nuclear power in the UK for generations to come. Our workers have already been developing their skills on the Hinkley Point C project. Sizewell C is the next step on this journey.

The project can also help to combat the other challenge of our time: climate change. By providing 7% of the UK’s energy needs through low-carbon electricity, Sizewell C can keep the UK in total control of our transition to net zero. Reliable, always-on nuclear generation can underpin and unleash renewables helping us make fundamental progress towards net zero by reducing emissions and limiting our reliance on oversees imports.

It is also a time-limited opportunity. Last month, Sizewell C submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) application. This has now been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate. We are now working to get the assurances that we need from Government to proceed with Sizewell C. Up to £300 million of work could be awarded this year alone, which is a significant upfront boost to the UK economy at this challenging time.

Therefore, we were delighted when Charlotte Nichols accepted our invitation to visit us to discuss the role of our business and the Warrington North constituency in the UK’s nuclear supply chain.

We look forward to working together with Charlotte Nichols who is also the Vice Chair for Nuclear APPG, to highlight to the Government how vital new nuclear is to our local economy, jobs and skills, with the aim of gaining approval for the project.

Find out more about the project here: https://www.sizewellcconsortium.com/