Rolls-Royce targets north Wales for mini-nuclear power plant

ROLLS-ROYCE SMR says north Wales and Cumbria are its top targets for mini-nuclear plants in the UK.

The venture is developing SMR (small modular reactors) tech with plans to roll out 12 plants in the UK.

The company says if it gets regulatory approval from the Government by 2024 then it can provide power to the UK grid by 2029. SMRs can largely be built in factories and assembled on-site, making them cheaper and quicker to assemble than traditional reactors.

In north Wales, Wylfa and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd would be potential locations.

The UK Government is also considering a large scale nuclear plant at Wylfa and is talking to potential developers and operators.

On site selection, Mr Samson said: “North Wales, alongside West Cumbria, has some of the best sites to locate the first RollsRoyce small modular reactor (SMR) power plants.

“The existing grid connection, infrastructure and access to a highly skilled workforce are some of the main reasons Rolls-Royce SMR sees these locations as the fastest route to deploy our power stations and begin to provide the UK with clean, affordable and sustainable electricity for generations to come.”

Last week a Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) was announced by the UK Government.

Mr Samson said: “The launch of the fund is excellent news and we welcome any move by government that reduces development risk and introduces certainty – which can be a barrier to building new nuclear plants at pace.

“Given the huge potential for building Rolls-Royce SMRs across the UK, the new fund – alongside the launch of the Great British Nuclear initiative – could be instrumental in helping down select the sites and begin delivering against the Government’s aspirations for up to 24GW of new nuclear power by 2050.”

Rolls-Royce has been a nuclear reactor plant designer since the start of the UK nuclear submarine programme in the 1950s.

Rolls-Royce SMR will draw upon standard nuclear energy technology that has been used in 400 reactors around the world.

The Rolls-Royce SMR power station will have the capacity to generate 470MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines.

It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years, helping to support the rollout of renewable generation and overcome intermittency issues.