As part of the Labour-led Government’s plans to decarbonise the UK’s power grid by 2030 and increase infrastructure investment, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will today (6 February) unveil a string of proposed changes to planning rules for nuclear power plants. These will be open to consultation until midday on 3 April.
Ministers foresee the UK’s first SMRs coming online in the early 2030s. Some developers are aiming to have them operational a few years earlier if possible.
The Government has stated that developers of SMRs may well want to co-locate them with energy-intensive sites such as industrial clusters or data centres that support artificial intelligence (AI). Should its proposals be implemented, developers would be required to specify sites as soon as possible in the pre-application stage in the planning process.
Restrictions for nuclear development will still apply near densely populated areas and military sites.
Starmer said: “This country hasn’t built a nuclear power station in decades. we’ve been let down, and left behind. Our energy security has been hostage to Putin for too long, with British prices skyrocketing at his whims. I’m putting an end to it.”
He emphasised that other markets including China and the EU have outpaced the UK in nuclear development in recent years and continue to do so. More of this article (edie) - link - more like this (nuclear) - link - more like this (Stamer) - link - more like this (nuclear greenwashing) - link
No comments:
Post a Comment