Fifteen years after the Sizewell C nuclear power station was proposed, the government will announce a £14.2bn commitment to the Suffolk site.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to confirm the funding at the GMB union conference ahead of the spending review on Wednesday, which will set departmental budgets until 2029.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will call it a “golden age” of nuclear to boost the UK’s energy security.
The funding will go towards creating 10,000 jobs, the government will say, including 1,500 apprenticeships, and will support thousands more jobs across the UK.
On Monday, it was revealed Britain’s nuclear power sector grew by a quarter in 2024 to £20bn compared with three years ago, underpinned by a record workforce which has increased by a third, according to research by the Nuclear Power Association.
About 87,000 people now work in the industry, with the rise largely driven by new nuclear power projects at Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C in Somerset.
Sizewell C was initially proposed by French energy company EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group, but in 2022 the Conservative government bought the Chinese company out and the state now owns 83.5% of the project with EDF.
The green light for construction to begin was given in January 2024 under the Conservative government, and at last autumn’s budget, Ms Reeves announced a £2.7bn commitment to Sizewell C and said a final commitment would be announced in the 2025 spending review.
Construction is expected to take between nine and 12 years and when it is complete, it will provide around six million homes with nuclear energy.
A total of £330m of contracts have been signed with local companies, with 70% of all contracts expected to go to 3,500 British suppliers.
Ms Reeves said: “Today we are once again investing…
