The UK government has decided to extend the lifetime of the 1.2 GW Sizewell B nuclear plant in Suffolk (United Kingdom) by 20 years to 2055 (UK government press release, 08/07/2026). The agreement sets the terms for a 20-year Contract for Difference (CfD) with a strike price of GBP70.5/MWh (EUR82/MWh) in 2025 prices starting from 2035, the original closure date of the power plant. According to EDF, the extension could add around 180 TWh of generation over the additional operating period.
EDF, with the support of Centrica which holds a 20% stake on the facility, also plans a major refurbishment programme during planned outages over the next 15 years, with investment of around GBP800m (EUR939m).
Commissioned in 1995, the Sizewell B was originally scheduled to close in 2035. The nuclear power plant currently supplies around 3% of the UK’s electricity demand and powers about 2.5 million homes.
In 2025, the United Kingdom had 5.9 GW of installed nuclear capacity in operation, with Sizewell B accounting for about 20% of that capacity (Enerdata’s Global Energy research).
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