Power station could become nuclear fusion plant
A POWER station just over the Leicestershire border could be set to become the home of the country’s nuclear fusion programme.
The Atomic Energy Authority is looking for new places to set up power stations and is in talks with Nottinghamshire County Council about the Ratcliffe-on-Soar site, six miles to the north of Loughborough.
It is understood Uniper, the current owner and operator of the existing coal power plant, which is scheduled for closure in 2025, is part of the discussions and Rushcliffe Borough Council, the authority in which Ratcliffe-onSoar sits, is set to discuss the opportunity at a cabinet meeting due to be held next week.
Council cabinet member Simon Robinson has submitted a report to be heard at the meeting, recommending that the council registers “interest for the Ratcliffeon-Soar site as one of several sites being put forward in the East Midlands”.
The discussions follow the unveiling in October 2019 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) of a £220 million fund to help find a home for the UK’s future Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, due for completion in 2040.
Addressing the potential to put the Ratcliffe on Soar site up for consideration, Coun Robinson’s report cites numerous potential benefits including job creation and the region’s carbon reduction targets.
The report states: “The site chosen for STEP will have global visibility and will form the centre of a programme of activity supporting thousands of high-quality high-tech jobs.
“STEP will support economic growth, providing the opportunity to attract £1.5 billion of inward investment and the training of highly skilled engineers.
“It will also be an integral part of meeting the global net zero challenge.”
The government’s STEP programme aims to have a bid approved and a conceptual design in place by 2024, with construction works due to begin in 2030.