Campaigners will have their day in court to challenge the "woeful decision" to give the go-ahead to the Sizewell C nuclear plant - just part of a challenging year ahead for the huge project.
The government approved the £20billion-plus twin reactor on the Suffolk coast last summer and has already pledged £700million of public money towards it along with a levy on power bills.
But that still leaves huge decisions to be made as to where the rest of the money will come from and how the power plant - which will provide electricity for six million homes - will be fully funded.
Ministers say the financial investment decision (FID) will be made in this parliament - which means in the next two years, though it could come sooner than that.
Construction work on the reactors will start soon after. Early work this year will continue on the main development site and also to relocate some buildings at Sizewell B to make room for Sizewell C.
A Sizewell C spokeswoman said: “2022 was a year of achievements for Sizewell C, from gaining planning permission through to Government taking a share in the project. We have important partnerships in place with business, community, education and third sectors to deliver the best project for Suffolk and our work in these areas will continue through 2023.
“Local business contracts are already being awarded, courses with those furthest from work in place and apprenticeships being delivered.
“Sizewell C will provide reliable homegrown electricity and the work we are doing is securing generations of jobs and skills alongside Sizewell B which continues to deliver benefits for Suffolk.”
Opponents may have been disappointed and discouraged by the Government's decision to go against the Planning Inspectorate's refusal recommendation - with water issues for the plant still a major concern - but they have not given up.
TASC - Together Against Sizewell C - described the business secretary's decision as "woeful" and is now looking forward to the High Court hearing on the group's application for a judicial review.
A TASC spokesman said: "TASC are hopeful that justice will prevail, as it is both illogical and irresponsible to proceed with the Sizewell C development when it may never have the means to operate, when across its full lifetime the site may not be adequately protected from the impacts of climate change, and when there are so many questions regarding the reactor design itself.”
The group doubts that the FID will be completed by 2025 with one senior MP having said the situation was "basically open-ended until we get enough people putting their hands in their pockets to pay for it”. BEIS secretary of state Grant Shapps said last month that he is more interested "in making sure that we have the detailed planning in place for this construction than I am in rushing the finance side of it right now”.
The TASC spokesman said: “The Sizewell C development has been in ‘detailed planning’ by EDF for over a decade yet the nine-month long geotechnical trials to establish if construction can be safely undertaken have not even started nor has the sea defence design been finalised."
The group still has deep concerns over Sizewell C's potential impact on the Suffolk AONB, its many designated wildlife sites and the marine environment.
“TASC hope 2023 will see the realisation that our future and that of the planet is best served by recognising that the apparent panic to produce more electricity must be balanced by continuing and encouraging the welcome reduction in demand: making what we have go further through efficiencies and conserving it is the quickest and most equitable and achievable route to net zero.”
Alison Downes from Stop Sizewell C said: "EDF may hope for a Final Investment Decision in 2023, but both their own senior staff and top government officials admit there is a long way to go.
"We think that given its many problems - especially raising the money - 2024 is much more likely, unless it gets pulled altogether, which is still a strong possibility.
"From the nuclear industry's disastrous track record of attempting to build and operate this type of reactor elsewhere in the world, we remain convinced it is fundamentally flawed. The government is backing a turkey, and it would be madness to tear up the Suffolk Coast without it being fully proven."
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