The UK government has granted the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk a 20-year life extension, allowing it to continue generating electricity until 2055 rather than closing within the next decade. The plant, which first connected to the National Grid in 1995, will now run for 60 years in total. The extension matters because it helps meet Britain's rising demand for low-carbon electricity to power electric vehicles, low-carbon heating and AI datacentres, while supporting the country's climate commitments.

Sizewell B produces around 3% of Britain's electricity, enough for the equivalent of 2.5 million homes. Under the deal, its French state-owned operator EDF will receive £70.50 per megawatt-hour from 2035, with maintenance investment coming from Centrica, which holds a 20% stake in EDF's UK reactors. The move forms part of a wider push for a "golden age of nuclear", alongside extensions to older plants, the construction of Hinkley Point C, the planned Sizewell C project, small modular reactors and a major expansion of renewable energy including a newly approved large solar farm.