Tuesday 9 November 2021

Government gives nuclear development £210m boost

The government has pledged £210 million to develop small modular reactors (SMRs), of which one could power up to one million homes.

The government funding is being provided to Rolls-Royce SMR to develop the design and to access the feasibility of deployment across the country.

New nuclear energy is set to have a critical role in providing affordable low carbon energy as the UK looks to shift away from its use of fossil fuels.

Due to their smaller size, SMRs are cheaper to produce than traditional nuclear power plants and Rolls-Royce SMR estimates that just one could generate enough energy to power a city the size of Leeds.

As part of the recently announced ‘Net Zero Strategy’, the UK will invest millions in the nuclear industry during the coming years, with hopes the energy could play a key role in delivering net zero.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Business and Energy Secretary, commented: “Small modular reactors offer exciting opportunities to cut costs and build more quickly, ensuring we can bring clean electricity to people’s homes and cut our already-dwindling use of volatile fossil fuels even further.

“By harnessing British engineering and ingenuity, we can double down on our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy in this country.”