The UK government has taken a final investment decision on Sizewell C, a £38 billion ($51 billion) nuclear power plant to be built alongside the existing Sizewell B facility on the Suffolk coast. The approval clears the way for construction of only the second new nuclear station in Britain in more than two decades, a cornerstone of London’s strategy to replace an ageing reactor fleet, bolster energy security and hit its net-zero targets. Under agreements signed on Tuesday, the British state will be the project’s largest shareholder with a 44.9% stake. Canada’s pension fund La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec will take 20%, UK energy group Centrica 15%, and London-based Amber Infrastructure 7.6%, joining France’s state-owned EDF, which already holds 12.5%. The government’s National Wealth Fund will provide most of the debt financing, backed by a guarantee from French export credit agency Bpifrance Assurance Export. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said the deal will deliver “next-generation, publicly owned clean power” and support economic growth. Sizewell C was first proposed in the early 2010s and originally involved China General Nuclear, whose interest the government bought out in 2022 on security grounds. The plant follows the EDF-led Hinkley Point C project, now delayed until around 2030, and is expected to create thousands of jobs during construction while supplying low-carbon electricity for decades once operational.