UK to invest in nuclear project for energy 'golden age'

Britain will invest 14.2 billion pounds ($A30 billion) to build a nuclear plant in southeast England, the government says, as part of its wider spending review that will define its priorities over the next four years.

Britain is seeking to build new nuclear plants to replace its ageing fleet to help boost its energy security and also reach its climate targets.

The Sizewell C plant in Suffolk is expected to create around 10,000 jobs during the peak of construction and produce enough electricity to power around six million homes when built.

"We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis," Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband said in a statement.

Britain has been seeking to bring new investors into the project the announcement on Tuesday announcement did not mention any other parties.

The government has not said how much the project is expected to cost in total or given a date for when it is expected to be completed.

Sizewell is expected to use a regulated-asset-base (RAB) funding model where companies building new plants would be paid during the construction phase, cutting down their development risk and allowing them to secure cheaper financing.

Critics of RAB say it will leave taxpayers liable for any cost over-runs and delays during construction and add costs to energy bills at a time when many people are already struggling.

It would be only the second new nuclear plant built in Britain in more than two decades, after French state-owned EDF's Hinkley Point C which has had several delays and cost overruns and is currently expected to start operations in 2029, with an estimated cost of between 31 and 34 billion pounds (between $A65 billion and $A70 billion) at 2015 prices.