The Times: Small nuclear power plants in UK to replace gas in quest for net zero

WORLD  26 November 2022 - 19:00

Ministers are finalising plans to support a generation of new small nuclear reactors as part of a strategy to phase out gas power stations and decarbonise the UK’s electricity supply.

Grant Shapps, the business secretary, is due to announce proposals for a body called Great British Nuclear (GBN) that will drive the government ambitions to triple nuclear generation, The Times reports.

GBN will be responsible for developing a network of between 20 and 30 small modular reactors (SMRs) that are being built by Rolls-Royce.
The reactors, which will each provide enough electricity to power a million homes, are significantly cheaper to build than full-scale reactors, and will be on existing or decommissioned nuclear sites.

GBN will be responsible for getting planning permission and doing the preparation work on the new sites. One Whitehall source said that GBN would act as a “champion” for the industry in government, and deliver the nuclear element of the government’s energy security strategy, which was announced by Boris Johnson this year.

The plan is to increase Britain’s nuclear generating capacity to 24GW by 2050, tripling what is produced now and accounting for up to 25 per cent of the UK’s projected electricity demand.

Shapps was due to make an announcement about the creation of GBN next Tuesday but government sources said this could “slip” thanks to a Whitehall row about funding.

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