Part 1 of 5 Parts
The government of the U.K. has pushed for more nuclear power reactors for the past fifteen years and has just renewed its commitment to nuclear power with public statements of support. Some observes may be puzzled about such support given many problems associated with nuclear power. Perhaps part of the answer is the fact that, since its inception, nuclear power has been supported by governments because of its connection to nuclear weapons. Any opposition to nuclear power must also oppose nuclear weapons to have any hope of succeeding.
At a recent online Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “All of Britain’s household energy needs supplied by offshore wind by 2030.” If this is accomplished, it would represent about forty per cent of the total U.K. consumption of electricity. While this sounds like a win for renewable energy generation, there were also two announcements about nuclear power at the conference.
The office of the Prime Minister told the Financial Times that it was considering dedicating about two billion six hundred thousand dollars to support the new small modular reactors (SMRs) currently under development. They are discussing the possibility of constructing as many as sixteen SMRs to “to help UK meet carbon emissions targets”. The announcement said that the first SMR to be constructed in the U.K. is estimated to cost as much as three billion dollars and be operational by 2029.
The U.K. government is also considering commissioning the first mini nuclear power stations which would host the SMRs. This announcement was encouraging to nuclear suppliers and investors. Final decisions on funding these projects will depend on the multiyear review of spending by the U.K Treasury which is due later this year. A consortium would be formed to construct such a power station and it would include Rolls Royce and the National Nuclear Laboratory.
Support for the development of this SMR technology is expected to be part of Boris Johnson’s “10-point plan for a green industrial revolution” and new Energy White Paper. These documents are expected to be released later this fall. It is probable that Johnson will also present these documents as his response to the English citizens assembly recommendations that were demanded by Extinction Rebellion in 2019.
The new energy plan will also include provisions for carbon capture and storage and using hydrogen as a vehicle fuel. But it is the plan for the SMRs that is impressive. The intent is to manufacture them on production lines in central factories and transport them to their final sites for assembly. Each of the SMRs would operate for up to sixty years and provide four hundred and forty megawatts of electricity each year. This is estimated to be enough electricity to power a city the size of Leeds. The SMR design is supposed to be ready by April of 2021. The U.K. business and energy department has already pledged to provide over twenty-three million dollars for developing the consortium’s early-stage plans.
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