New small nuclear reactors could be built near Sellafield after the Chancellor announced the release of land next to the Cumbrian site for development.
Rachel Reeves used the spending review to give significant government backing to new nuclear in a bid to move the country away from its dependence on fossil fuels.
As part of the plans, the Government has unlocked land in Moorside, West Cumbria, which will now be developed and could become among the first sites for a “fleet” of new small modular reactors in the UK.
Reeves told the Commons on Wednesday that the decision to unlock the land and invest around £30bn in nuclear energy would “strengthen Britain’s position at the forefront of a global race for new nuclear technologies”.
Ministers this week announced that Rolls-Royce has been selected as the preferred bidder to build the UK’s first SMRs, which the Government believes can be delivered more quickly and cheaply than large scale nuclear reactors.
The new small reactor scheme has been granted £2.5bn as part of the spending review, and it is hoped the programme could power around 3m homes when up and running.
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced plans to cut planning red tape that restricts where new SMRs could be built, opening the potential for smaller reactors to be built across the country.
It is understood that each site will host at least two SMRs, with the Moorside site, called Pioneer Park, among those that could be the first to host the new reactors.
SMR technology is still a burgeoning area, with around 80 different designs being considered for use, with Rolls-Royce’s among the frontrunners.
Only China and Russia are currently using small reactors, but ministers believe the new technology could offer the UK a quicker route to providing reliable, lower carbon energy.
A digital visualisation shows the small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) planned by Rolls-Royce(Photo: Rolls-Royce)It came as the Government made a £14.2bn investment to build the Sizewell C nuclear reactor in Suffolk, as part of what Energy Secretary Ed Miliband claimed would become a “golden age” of nuclear energy for Britain.
Reeves has also announced a record investment in research and development for fusion energy, investing £2.5bn over five years in what could provide near limitless supplies of energy.
The money will be used to push forward the prototype reactor, called the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (Step), which will be built in Nottinghamshire with a predicted completion date of 2040.
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