The UK will lead a “renaissance” on nuclear energy, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps has promised, as the government offered grants of up to £157 million to several projects across the UK.
Mr. Shapps announced on Tuesday the launch of Great British Nuclear (GBN), a new arm’s-length government body tasked to “drive rapid expansion of nuclear power at an unprecedented scale and pace.”
Speaking in central London, he bemoaned decades of decline in the nuclear industry and criticised previous government inaction.
He reflected on public opposition to nuclear development in the 1970s and 1980s, noting, “That mood even percolated into government itself and by the early 1990s” and the British nuclear industry was “firmly in decline” as a result.
Mr. Shapps said that had been a “colossal mistake” which had caused more reliance on fossil fuels.
He promised the “beginning of a new nuclear age, a renaissance” and hit out at “misplaced fears” over the technology.
The Cabinet minister told the audience, “We have learned the lessons of the past … the developer-led approach of the late 90s has just not delivered.”
‘Massive Revival’
The government said the launch of GBN marks a “massive revival of nuclear power” and places the UK “at the forefront of a global race to develop cutting-edge technologies to rapidly deliver cleaner, cheaper, more secure energy.”The nuclear revival will “boost UK energy security, reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports, create more affordable power, and grow the economy,” said the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
From Tuesday, companies can register their interest with GBN to participate in a competition to secure funding support to develop their products.
The move could result in billions of pounds of public and private sector investment in small modular reactor (SMR) projects in the UK, the department said.
Ministers have promised that GBN will help the government hit its target that around a quarter of Britain’s electricity will come from nuclear by 2050.
It could be years before the sites are actually up and running, with final investment decisions expected before 2029.
Mr. Shapps said he hoped that the first SMRs would be generating electricity in the 2030s.
‘I Won’t Take Chinese Money’
The Cabinet minister did not rule out Chinese-backed investment in future projects. It comes after a Parliamentary watchdog flagged concerns about the role the communist regime is playing in the civil nuclear energy sector.China General Nuclear last year dropped out of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk but the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee last weekend warned that it had serious questions about future projects.
Mr. Shapps said, “I won’t take Chinese money into anything which is part of our national infrastructure in terms of sharing the technologies or anything else.”
‘Shambolic’
Alongside the launch of GBN, the government also announced that it would give grants of up to £157 million to several different projects.This includes up to £77 million to accelerate the development of a nuclear business in the UK and support new designs.
Labour accused the government of overseeing “another relaunch” and overseeing “13 years of failure.”
Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead said: “It’s shambolic that after 13 years of Tory government, not one of the ten nuclear sites approved by the last Labour government has been built.
“Ministers should today tell us whether they can guarantee to keep their promise to bring Sizewell to final investment decision this Parliament. The signs are not encouraging.”
