24/7 Space News
CIVIL NUCLEAR
UK to quicken rollout of mini-nuclear reactors
UK to quicken rollout of mini-nuclear reactors
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Feb 6, 2025

Britain's Labour government on Thursday said changes to planning laws will speed up the country's rollout of mini-nuclear reactors aimed at providing cheaper and cleaner energy.

"Reforms to planning rules will clear a path for smaller, safer, and easier to build nuclear reactors -- known as Small Modular Reactors (SMR) -- to be built for the first time ever in the UK," a statement said.

"This will create thousands of new highly skilled jobs while delivering clean, secure and more affordable energy for working people."

The government led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted that China is constructing 29 reactors and the European Union has 12 at planning stage.

"My government was elected to deliver change," said Starmer, whose party came to power in July following 14 years of Conservative rule.

"I'll take the radical decisions needed to wrestle Britain from its status quo slumber, to turbocharge our plan for change."

The current plans restrict nuclear development to just eight UK sites.

Greenpeace voiced scepticism at the changes, while urging the government to focus on renewable energy which includes wind and solar.

Labour presents "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", Greenpeace policy director Doug Parr said in a statement.

While scrapping the limit on site numbers, the government on Thursday stressed there will "continue to be robust criteria for nuclear reactor locations, including restrictions near densely populated areas and military activity", adding it would take into account environmental impacts.

Labour believes easing regulations across various sectors will help to grow a stagnant UK economy. It argues that for the nuclear industry it should help to speed up net zero carbon emissions and improve energy security.

"The British people have been left vulnerable to global energy markets for too long -- and the only way out is to build our way to a new era of clean electricity," Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in the joint statement.

Britain has five nuclear power plants in operation of which four will have their lifetime extended according to an announcement in December by their French operator EDF, as the UK aims to fully decarbonise its energy grid by 2030.

EDF, which is building the new nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C in southwest England, decided last year to withdraw its interest to construct Britain's SMRs.

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CIVIL NUCLEAR
New Belgian government ditches nuclear power exit plan
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Feb 4, 2025
Belgium's new conservative-led government on Tuesday made a U-turn on a two-decades-old pledge to exit from nuclear power, announcing plans to invest in two new reactors. New Prime Minister Bart De Wever informed lawmakers in his inaugural policy address to parliament that he intended to "put an end to an outdated law" - a decision agreed as part of the country's new coalition deal. Under a 2003 law, Belgium had set a calendar for taking the country's nuclear reactors out of service by the end ... read more

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Mark Sykes' Statement in Support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Busy day of research, lab maintenance, and cargo operations aboard ISS

Space Navigation and Plasma Crystal Research Lead Wednesday's Science Activities

ISS Crew Demonstrates Robotics and Monitors Environmental Conditions

CIVIL NUCLEAR
NASA chooses SpaceX launch site in Texas for Pandora mission launch

Rocket Lab launches 5th satellite batch for Kineis IoT constellation

SpaceX launches 21 more Starlink satellites from Florida

Reusable Rocket Development Advances in China

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Perseverance Rover's Groundbreaking Soil and Rock Samples

Meteor collision shakes Mars recorded by InSight

Texas A&M scholar secures NASA funding to examine Martian dune dynamics

New Martian Crater Reveals Far-Reaching Seismic Signals

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Astronaut insights from mid mission aboard Tiangong

Chinese Satellite Companies Expand Global Services with Advanced Networks and Constellations

China launches additional satellites for Spacesail Constellation

Shenzhou XIX crew completes second spacewalk mission

CIVIL NUCLEAR
NASA Pioneers Autonomous Tools for Satellite Swarms

Sidus Space moves LizzieSat-3 to Vandenberg for upcoming orbit mission

UK Gains Advanced Space Simulation Facility from Amentum

Vodafone utilizes US satellite array for milestone mobile call

CIVIL NUCLEAR
For astronaut radiation protection just add water

Astroscale second generation docking plate gains flight heritage

One in Four Chance Annually of Rocket Debris Entering High-Traffic Airspace

Novel high-heat lubricant drastically reduces friction

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Apply for the Davie Postdoctoral Fellowship in Artificial Intelligence for Astronomy

Wobbling Stars Lead to Discovery of Hidden Celestial Bodies in Gaia Data

Scientists measure Earth's cosmic detectability

How Early Earth Supported the Formation of Polyester Protocells

CIVIL NUCLEAR
New Study Suggests Trench-Like Features on Uranus' Moon Ariel May Be Windows to Its Interior

NASA Juno Mission Discovers Record-Breaking Volcanic Activity on Io

SwRI models suggest Pluto and Charon formed similarly to Earth and Moon

Citizen scientists help decipher Jupiter's cloud composition

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.