Simon Jack is a business editor.

Sizewell A, B and C modelImage source, EDF
Image caption, Sizewell C (lighter grey on the right) would be built next to Sizewell B

The government is going to take a 20% stake in the Sizewell nuclear plant.

A 20% stake in the Suffolk power station will be taken by the French developer.

The confirmation of two cornerstone investors will hopefully encourage infrastructure investors and pension funds to take up the remaining 60%.

The new UK energy strategy is anticipated this week. There is no decision yet on the future of WylFA.

The prime minister has said that plans to reduce UK reliance on fossil fuels are dependent on new nuclear facilities being built.

It is not clear whether these new ambitions will include large-scale plants, smaller reactor based on nuclear submarine technology, or both.

Plans for solar and wind power, as well as stimulating additional investment in oil and gas fields in UK waters, will be included in the government's strategy.

Sizewell C will be built over the next decade, and the legislation allowing construction and financing costs to be added to customer bills is due for a second reading in the House of Commons next month. It made it through the House of Commons and is expected to become law in the coming weeks.

The amount added will be relatively insignificant, at about 2 a year for the first phase, rising to a peak of about 12 a year after that.

Sizewell C is expected to cost 20 billion. Sizewell C will be a replica of the plant currently under construction at Hinkley Point, creating cost savings.

As global inflationary pressures affect prices of steel, cement, wages and the large amounts of energy required to build plants of this size, those numbers are expected to rise.

Sizewell
Image caption, Groups opposed to the Sizewell plan say it is risky, expensive and endangers wildlife

The capital is expected to be financed with a third of equity and a third of debt from financial markets.

The government has committed 100 million dollars to the project. Taking a 20% stake would lead to a rise in that to between 1.5 billion and 2 billion.

Nuclear industry insiders say the proposed reforms to EU-wide financial regulations will make it easier for pension funds and insurance companies to invest in long-term infrastructure assets like nuclear.

While some Suffolk business groups would welcome the jobs and skills that would be brought to the local economy, there is significant opposition to the plant both at a local level and more widely from those who argue big nuclear is slow, expensive, old fashioned, risky and threatens local wildlife.

Anti-Sizewell groups have mounted planning challenges and are expected to demand a judicial review of any approval.

The Stop Sizewell C group is appalled that the government plans to throw billions of pounds in taxpayers money at Sizewell C and hit households with a nuclear tax on their bills when renewable solutions, insulation, efficiency and energy storage will achieve energy security faster.

The government believes it is a source of non-imported, low carbon electricity and has a target for nuclear to contribute 25% of the UK's power needs.

Of the eight plants still in operation, all but one are due to be switched off by the year 2030. There is only one construction currently going on.

When that plant comes online, it will produce 7% of current needs.

The government wants to accelerate the development of smaller reactor designs, but they are still at an early stage.

Critics argue that solar and wind are cheaper and more efficient than other technologies.

The current energy crisis has made a powerful argument for removing economies from volatile fossil fuels, but it is still some way off.

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