The UK Government is considering changes to planning rules that could allow the construction of mini nuclear plants in a wider range of locations.
This potential shift aligns with the government’s Nuclear Roadmap to 2050, emphasising the importance of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs) in achieving energy goals.
In its “Nuclear Roadmap”, the government states: “The current nuclear NPS was designated in 2011 and focused on GW-scale nuclear developments. Now an NPS is required which can facilitate the rollout of SMRs and advanced modular reactors (alongside GW-scale projects), to meet our ambition for up to 24GW by 2050.
“While we recognise the potential advantages of the existing sites designated under EN-6 remain, making them potentially suitable for nuclear development beyond 2025, we also need a greater diversity of sites.”
Sam Richards, the founder of Britain Remade, commends the government’s decision but urges further action to ensure that SMRs avoid regulatory hurdles faced by their larger counterparts.
Mr Richards said: “We cannot let the building of game changing technologies like SMRs be stifled by restrictive planning and regulatory rules.
“Today’s news is a welcome first step to delivering a fleet of mini reactors across the country, but the government must go further to ensure SMRs are not caught in the same regulatory bureaucracy as their bigger gigawatt scale cousins.”
