Nuclear reactors are coming to countryside near you – but could cut your bills ...Middle East

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to overrule homeowners and his own MPs opposed to building new mini nuclear reactors across the country as he aims to deliver greener energy and fire artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK.

The Government is to loosen planning regulations to allow new so-called small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built in the countryside in a bid to hit green energy targets and provide cleaner, more secure energy.

The Prime Minister insisted that he would use his Government’s massive majority to push through the changes, warning his own backbenchers against objecting to the new power stations in their constituencies.

And as a potential sweetener for communities, he suggested homeowners could be handed incentives in return for reactors being built nearby.

The chairman of Great British Nuclear, Simon Bowen, has previously suggested residents living near new sites should have their bills cut.

Starmer also suggested that new SMRs could be paid for by tech giants, such as Google or Meta, as the power plants are seen as a crucial means to power the vast new data centres that will be required to deliver AI.

Under current planning rules, nuclear reactors can only be built on eight designated sites, but Downing Street says it will tear up the regulations to allow smaller reactors to be built anywhere in England and Wales, albeit the expectation is they will be located in remote parts of the country.

Asked whether it will mean some communities will have to get used to nuclear reactors being built nearby, the Prime Minister replied: “It does open up areas that weren’t capable of being considered nuclear sites before, and that means that it will be in some areas where people hadn’t even thought there’s going to be anything nuclear near me, and yes we’re going to have to push it through.”

He added, however, that current restrictions on building them near densely populated areas would remain.

Starmer added that he did not want to see his own Labour MPs objecting to SMRs being built in their constituencies “anymore than I want them objecting to housing or other infrastructure”.

“This is where we’ve gone wrong for so long in this country,” he said. “Everybody puts their hand up for infrastructure, for change, taking the country forward, and then puts their hand up again when they’re asked to object to it being in your area. And we just got to break through that. We have got the advantage of a big majority to help us.”

What size are small modular reactors (SMRs)?

SMRs, or small nuclear reactors, are typically about a tenth or a quarter of the size of a traditional nuclear power plant – roughly the size of a school bus but six stories high.

The smaller size means SMRs offer greater options in terms of site deployment and can be used in countries with smaller grids and less experience of nuclear power.

Together with associated infrastructure they take up the area of a football pitch.

How much power can they produce?The power output of SMRs is significantly smaller than larger reactors’, ranging from 20 to 300 megawatts of electricity (MW).

Large-scale reactors produce over 1,000MW (one gigawatt), with some able to produce 1.6GW.

What infrastructure is needed to build SMRs?A key feature of SMRs is their modular design, which enables off-site manufacturing and flexible deployment.

The various systems and components can be assembled in factories and transported as modules or whole units to a location for installation. This reduces installation costs and the time required for construction, and means SMRs can be deployed in remote locations.

Due to the modular assembly, capacity can be expanded incrementally as required.

What are the advantages of SMRs?The UK Government believes that SMRs can play a pivotal role alongside large nuclear reactors in providing a cost-effective, low-carbon energy source and helping to decarbonise the UK’s energy grid.

The smaller size, power output and capacity of SMRs means they need less space and cooling water than larger reactors and offer greater flexibility in site selection.

SMRs can help to ensure the stability of the electric grid in a system using a large amount of renewable energy. They can be integrated with other energy sources, such as renewables and hydrogen, and can supply electricity, heat or be used to produce hydrogen. 

Jessica Rawnsley

The Government believes it could start to deliver the first SMRs by 2032, despite the technology still being in its development phase, with Rolls-Royce seen as being among the most advanced in terms of delivering a mini reactor.

On the potential for communities getting money off their bills if they are near a reactor, the Prime Minister said nothing had been decided, but he added: “We need to see where the interest is, and no doubt part of that negotiation or discussion will be, is there something that can be done for those that are bearing the burden of this, as a general principle.”

While the SMRs are being seen as a means of providing greater energy security, a key deployment of the technology will be to power energy hungry developments, such as data centres that will increasingly be required for AI.

The Prime Minister said the UK’s position outside of the EU gives the country an advantage when it comes to the development of AI, and he suggested that tech giants, such as Google or Meta, could be used to invest in SMRs to power their data centres.

Nuclear reactor planning delays put net-zero target at risk, MPs warn

“It’s a possibility,” he told The i Paper. “They are very keen to get the data centres in, and they’re very alive to the fact that it’s the power that is the big issue, so it is in their interest that this happens.

“Whether they will then entertain a discussion, which is: ‘Let’s do this as a joint project’, I don’t know but there’ll be a lot of sense in that, because it will give [a] finance boost to the development.”

Starmer warned that the “archaic” planning rules had been holding back the UK for too long, adding that the country had slipped behind the likes of China and Europe in the construction of new nuclear plants.

Just two new nuclear power plants have been approved since the mid-1990s, Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is under construction, and Sizewell C in Suffolk, which is still awaiting a final investment decision from the Government.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “This is the Prime Minister’s strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission.

“A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.

Julia Pyke, joint managing director of Sizewell C, welcomed the Government’s announcement and insisted that “Sizewell C is the next step on this journey”.

The Prime Minister added that the push for nuclear was part of the push for growth and would create thousands of jobs.

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