A proposed new nuclear plant in Suffolk could take six years to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated in its construction, EDF has admitted.
The French energy group estimates that 5.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide will be emitted in the nine to twelve years that it will take to build the Sizewell C plant.
It argues that this is “small in comparison to the savings that would be achieved once the power station becomes operational, when the station will be displacing more carbon-intensive energy from the national grid”.
In publicity material, EDF claims that Sizewell C will “save nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions for every year of its operation”, based on it replacing gas-fired power plants.
However, in planning documents it
