• Prime Minister Starmer announced plans for a major nuclear power expansion across England and Wales, including the development of small modular reactors (SMRs).
• The government aims to streamline regulations and partner with the private sector to accelerate nuclear technology development, despite concerns about costs and safety.
• While nuclear power is seen as a key component of the UK’s clean energy transition, there are debates about the practicality of SMRs and the potential distraction from renewable energy deployment.

As the U.K. undergoes a massive energy transformation under the Labour government, there are high hopes for developing widescale clean energy projects, including nuclear power. As well as ambitious plans to deploy vast amounts of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, and overhaul the country’s transmission infrastructure, U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer has shown significant support for nuclear power. Following decades of no new nuclear energy developments, several large-scale projects are now underway, and Starmer aims to construct even more nuclear power capacity in the coming years.

At the beginning of February, the PM unveiled plans for a historic nuclear power expansion across England and Wales. Starmer had previously called on tech companies to collaborate with the government to develop small modular reactor (SMR) technology to power the rising electricity demand that is being driven by data centres. He said the government would “push past nimbyism” as he announced plans to develop SMRs on various sites across the country. The U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has previously criticised the “not in my backyard” approach to clean energy projects for impeding the country’s green transition.

Starmer hopes the first small reactors will be built by 2032 and eventually become more common across the U.K. The government will now permit nuclear projects to be developed outside the existing eight designated nuclear sites, allowing for SMRs to be constructed on non-conventional sites. Echoing U.S. President Donald Trump, Starmer said his government would “build, baby, build” when it comes to nuclear power. However, while SMR technology is growing in popularity, there are currently no commercial SMR sites up and running globally, although several are expected to be launched over the next decade. This makes it difficult to clearly understand the timeframe and cost of establishing these sites.

In terms of regulations, the government has plans to establish a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce to be in charge of making sure U.K. regulations align with international standards to facilitate quicker approvals for reactor designs.

There are high hopes that the private sector will support the government in investing in SMRs to help develop the technology faster. Starmer invited tech companies, such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, to invest in SMR-powered data centres in the U.K. “They are very keen to get the datacentres in and they’re very alive to the fact that the power is a big issue, so it is in their interest that this happens,” the PM stated. “There’ll be a lot of sense in that because it will give finance and a boost to the development,” he added.

The British aerospace company Rolls-Royce has criticised the former Conservative Party government for not supporting the development of SMRs. The company leads a British consortium that is developing SMR technology and critiqued the previous government for repeated delays in funding support for research and development. Starmer said that the new rules will provide a “great opportunity” for companies such as Rolls-Royce to accelerate their developments.

While nuclear power offers the potential to provide vast amounts of clean energy, supporting decarbonisation aims, some are concerned about the lack of practical application of SMR technology to date. Doug Parr, Greenpeace U.K.’s policy director, believes Starmer’s plan is unrealistic. “The Labour government has swallowed nuclear industry spin whole, seemingly without applying so much as a pinch of critical scrutiny or asking for a sprinkling of evidence,” he stated. “They present as fact things which are merely optimistic conjecture on small nuclear reactor cost, speed of delivery and safety, which is courageous – or stupid – given that not a single one has been built, and with the nuclear industry’s record of being over time and budget unmatched by any other sector,” Parr added.

Although several environmental groups now back nuclear power, as it has proven to be far safer and cleaner than fossil fuels, many are concerned that the development of the U.K.’s nuclear energy capacity could create a distraction from the deployment of renewable energy projects. In addition, many advocacy groups stress the existing delays in developing the U.K.’s nuclear energy sector, with companies having faced severe delays and cost increases in developing new nuclear projects in recent years.

Industry experts warn that SMRs could be extremely expensive to develop and run. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which is investing in SMR development, has said that the technology “could have higher costs per MW compared to gigawatt-scale reactors“. There are also safety concerns, particularly as SMRs could be constructed on remote, non-conventional sites. This means that there must be rigorous regulations on the technology to mitigate any risk.

Nevertheless, if Starmer is successful in getting both conventional and small-scale nuclear power projects up and running across the U.K., it could provide abundant clean energy and help the country decarbonise. Meanwhile, Miliband has been steadfast in his support for widescale renewable energy deployment and a green transition. However, environmental groups are calling for strict regulations on the development of the U.K.’s nuclear power sector, to ensure that rigorous safety standards are adhered to.

https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/UK-to-Partner-with-Big-Tech-on-Nuclear-Powered-Data-Centers.amp.html