The consortium this week signed agreements with the US company Exelon Generation and the Czech power company CEZ to consider the reactors.

Small nuclear reactors were first developed in the 1950s to use in nuclear-powered submarines. Since then Rolls-Royce has designed reactors for seven classes of submarine and two separate land-based prototype reactors.

However, to be cost-effective for civilian use the power generated by the reactors has to compete with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The costs of installing renewables have fallen dramatically in the last decade and they do not pose the same safety concerns.

The Financial Times last month reported that the government was backing the plans to commit between £1.5bn and £2bn, and that it would form part of Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan for the environment. However, the second wave of coronavirus has caused the delay of the Treasury’s multiyear spending review. …..

a 2017 study by the consortium partner Atkins found that the electricity produced from the small reactors would be a third more expensive than traditional plants……. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/11/rolls-royce-vows-to-create-6000-uk-jobs-with-nuclear-power-station-plans