Why Today's Nuclear Announcement on SMRs Matters

The Government puts the UK public on notice that a Small Modular Reactor might be coming to a town near you

Today's announcement by the UK Government that the planning rules for building new small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) will be ‘ripped up’ and redrafted is a potential watershed moment for the country's nuclear sector.

The mantra of the sector for years has been 'open up sites and we will build'. This announcement sets out the Government's views on SMRs in unambiguous terms.

News that planning timelines will be shortened and that nuclear sites can be allocated almost anywhere across England and Wales will be music to the ears of an expectant nuclear sector.

For over a decade, the UK's nuclear developers, engineers, and supply chain have consistently argued that SMRs and AMRs (Advanced Modular Reactors) can deliver a beguiling mixture of benefits including energy security, economic prosperity (jobs and skills), and decarbonisation as well as much-needed export opportunities.

Coming one week after Nuclear Week in Parliament, where leaders from the UK's civil nuclear sector got together to explain what their industry needed to succeed, today's announcement shows that Government is listening to industry’s concerns and has acted decisively to outline a pathway forward for Britain to commercialise and grow a completely new industry sector.

Why today is important

The announcement is interesting in many ways, and not just for the awkward metaphor of how the Government will 'fire-up nuclear power'.
Firstly, many corners of the nuclear industry have been sceptical about Labour's commitment to nuclear power given its relentless focus on a clean energy future based on offshore and onshore wind and solar.

The fact that the Prime Minister himself has committed to putting 'Britain back in the global race for nuclear energy' largely answers this criticism and stymies future attacks from the opposition in Parliament about the lack of a plan for SMRs and new nuclear.

Secondly, today's announcement highlights that 'nuclear sites could be built anywhere across England and Wales'.

This will inevitably kickstart a debate about where these new sites might be.

Set against a backdrop of increasing public backlash against solar farms (thought to blight landscapes), this throws into sharp relief questions about where new 'nuclear communities' might arise and what industries (chemicals, ceramics, cement, industry) they might support.

Thirdly, the Government has understood and responded to the industry's most persistent bugbear – regulation - by setting up a new Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce that will streamline the regulatory regime for nuclear and will report directly to the PM.

Issues and opportunities to be resolved

However, key questions remain.

How will a new fleet of SMRs and AMRs be financed and how much will it cost?

And what technologies should be prioritised and where?

Indeed, AMRs with their high temperature producing capabilities could be the ideal bedfellow for UK industry that struggles with high energy costs.

Into this void, the sector must step through clear messaging, a coherent narrative, proactive communications with media and discussions with Government officials in Whitehall and Westminster.

The industry must also venture beyond the 'Westminster bubble' to speak to MPs in the regions and with communities in parts of England and Wales with no prior nuclear heritage to seek their views and show them that there are alternative energy sources.

Above all, communities will expect benefits for hosting SMRs and AMRs and will want to know how they stand to benefit from these exciting new technologies not just in terms of jobs, but potentially in reduced energy bills or funding for local facilities such as schools or education programmes.

Take the East Midlands as an example. Known at various times for textiles, brewing, logistics and engineering, might the region convert its existing and moribund coal-fired power station sites into nuclear sites becoming once against the Megawatt Valley for the country?

One could take this model and replicate it in many other regions across England and Wales.

Today the Government has put the UK on firm notice that SMRs and AMRs are part of the country’s immediate energy future. This is something that will open new growth avenues for thousands of British companies, professional bodies and academic institutions and is to be welcomed.

This article was written by Dr Michael Zdanowski and the views expressed in it are his own. Michael has advised leaders across the UK nuclear sector for over a decade.