nuclear-news

Mini nuclear power stations in UK towns move one step closer, Telegraph UK,  Kate McCann, senior political correspondent 2 APRIL 2016  Mini nuclear power stations in towns around the UK have moved a step closer after it emerged the Government is assessing suitable sites to push ahead with a build……….. campaigners are warning the plans could mean communities have new power stations forced on them if suitable sites are identified nearby.The Sunday Telegraph understands that sites in Wales, including the site of a former reactor at Trawsfynydd, and in the North of England where ex-nuclear or coal-fired power stations were stationed are being looked at as possible options.
Other areas including Bradwell, Hartlepool, Heysham, Oldbury, Sizewell, Sellafield and Wylfa are also thought to be possibilities. Small modular reactors are attractive because they can be built in factories and assembled on-site. They take less time to develop than conventional nuclear power stations but they produce much less power – meaning there must be more of them to generate sustainable energy and they must be built close to the communities they serve.

A former Government advisor warned the plans were dropped under the Coalition after pressure from Liberal Democrat Ministers because of fears that communities would reject nuclear power stations close to towns.

But in the Budget in March, George Osborne announced a funding competition to get the industry off the ground in the UK.

The document revealed: “The government is launching the first stage of a competition to identify a small modular nuclear reactor to be built in the UK, and will publish an SMR delivery roadmap later this year. It will also allocate at least £30m of funding for research and development in advanced nuclear  manufacturing.”

A number of companies are already working on plans for the small power stations…………..experts have warned that new power stations must not be imposed on local communities.

Liberal Democrat energy spokesman Lynne Featherstone said: “It is just striking how little regard the Conservatives have for communities around this country, and the ridiculous lengths they’ll go to to avoid positive investment in renewables.  “The Liberal Democrats stopped this once before, and will fight any attempt to bring it back. We prefer solutions to the climate crisis which have real potential rather than unproven solutions which would not have public support. “The fact that the Tory answer to our energy problems is to build nuclear reactors in towns across Britain shows just how out of touch with reality they actually are.”

A Government source said the project is at such an early stage that there are currently no plans for specific stations, and no detail on how planning permission would be given. Currently, large-scale energy projects are approved by the Secretary of State. ……

“we launched the first phase of a competition to identify the best value small modular design for the UK. We are firing the starting gun on backing this industry of the future and positioning the UK as a global leader in nuclear innovation”. – Amber Rudd

But The Local Government Association warned against imposing developments on communities. An LGA spokesman added: “It must be up to individual communities, through their democratically elected councillors and the planning system, to decide whether any new development is right for them, especially if it will have a significant impact on them. Local views should never be overridden by national policy.”

Anti-nuclear campaigners have long warned against new nuclear power stations, claiming they are costly, dangerous and produce too much waste to be environmentally effective.  Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace, also warned that the small reactors will fail because they will be overtaken by other technology before they can be built.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: “Now that the government and EDF have run into major problems with Hinkley, there is an unhelpful suggestion that smaller reactors are the answer to powering to the UK. That is wrong.