Nuclear industry fears ‘mini’ reactor funds will be set too low

THE nuclear industry fears central government measures intended to boost the building of new “mini” nuclear reactors will only keep the sector on “life support”.

The Government is expected to set out new funding for the development of small modular reactors (SMRS) later this week. However, the industry is concerned that ministers will simply “kick the can down the road” by outlining an underwhelming package.

Richard Harrington, the energy minister, is expected to unveil the funding plans for SMRS – nuclear power stations about one tenth of the size of current plants – on Thursday. However, companies vying to develop SMRS are worried that the announcement from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will not provide the strong signal or the cash needed to kick-start development.

“The mood music coming out of BEIS is that they are just kicking the can down the road,” one nuclear industry source said “Rather than a great announcement it looks like they are just buying time.”

The source described a sense of “deep frustration” within the industry at Government delays on SMRS, adding: “There’s an absence of understanding of the scale of the challenge on energy in the UK”.

It is thought the announcement will involve tens of millions of pounds, understood to be enough to fund a competition to assess rival bids.

Another source with knowledge of the department’s thinking described the level of funding as “enough to keep the programme on life support”, but no more. If the technology is developed and the UK takes a lead, SMRS could drive a global industry estimated to be worth £450billion.

A BEIS spokesman said: “We are currently considering next steps for the SMR programme and we will communicate these in due course.”

A push for new nuclear power was announced by George Osborne two years ago, with up to £250million on offer for technologies that could help guarantee security of supply for the UK’S power needs.