NEW MINI NUCLEAR SITES PLAN
REVOLUTIONARY mini nuclear power stations could be built in Wales under plans by one of the world’s most famous engineering firms.
A consortium led by Rolls-Royce is considering building the power stations and, if given the go-ahead, the first could be generating electricity by the end of this decade.
The UK Government is considering introducing a series of smaller nuclear power station because of delays in building major contracts such as Hinkley C in Somerset and the suspension of projects at Wylfa on Anglesey and Moorside in Cumbria.
The Anglesey site is believed to be under consideration, as is the site of the now decommissioned nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd near Blaenau Ffestiniog, according to reports.
Up to 16 mini nuclear power stations could be built across the UK.
Britain’s eight large-scale nuclear power plants are nearing the end of their collective lifespan, with most due to close by 2030.
The nuclear power station at Wylfa, opened in 1971, closed at the end of 2015 and since then all nuclear fuel has been removed from the site.
Japanese company Hitachi had planned to build a new facilty, Wylfa Newydd, on land adjacent to the former power station, and substantial clearance work has already been completed.
The power station at Trawsfynydd was the only inland plant built in Britain and was among the first to close in 1991.
Both Wylfa and Trawsfynydd remain linked to the National Grid and have rail links nearby.
Rolls-Royce bosses would not be drawn on specific sites.
But Alan Woods, strategy and business development director for RollsRoyce, told the Mail on Sunday: “We expect to build them in the North [of England] and Wales. That’s where we’re focusing, that’s where we’ll put our effort.”
A joint investment of £500m between the Government and the Rolls-Royce consortium, which also includes BAM Nuttall and Laing O’Rourke, was proposed last summer.
An initial award from the Government of £18m was signed off in November, which the consortium will match.
Modular reactors are smaller and, once the first is approved and built, manufacturers hope mass-production will lead to shorter construction times and lower costs for each unit.
Each will produce about a fifth of the energy of the latest generation of large reactors.
The consortium will need to establish factories to produce the small modular reactors, with the prefabricated modules transported to sites for construction.