Government's nuclear expansion plans include potential new plant as big as Hinkley

The UK government has issued plans on how to expand domestic nuclear power, providing a roadmap which sets out how the country could quadruple output to 24 gigawatts (GW) by 2050.

This would be enough to provide a quarter of the UK’s electricity, with plans including exploring the potential of a new GW-scale power plant as big as Sizewell in Suffolk or Hinkley in Somerset - each of which is capable of powering six million homes.

READ MORE: EDF to invest further £1.3 bn in five UK nuclear power stations

Whitehall said the new 'Civil Nuclear Roadmap' provides industry with certainty, will reduce electricity bills, support thousands of jobs, and improve UK energy security.

It comes after French energy giant EDF said this week that it would invest a further £1.3 billion in the UK's five generating nuclear power stations between 2024 and 2026.

EDF manages the UK's eight nuclear power station sites, five that are generating (Sizewell B, Torness, Heysham 2, Heysham 1, Hartlepool) and three that are defueling (Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B). At Hinkley Point C, it is building two new nuclear reactors - the first in a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain.

The government's latest nuclear plan also includes investing up to £300 million in the UK production of the fuel required to power high-tech new nuclear reactors known as HALEU, and ideas to streamline and speed-up the development of new power stations and introduce smarter regulation.

Whitehall also wants to secure 3 – 7GW worth of investment decisions every five years from 2030 to 2044 on new nuclear projects.

Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, explained: "We’re making the biggest investment in domestic nuclear energy in 70 years.

"Our £300 million plan to produce advanced nuclear fuel in the UK will supply nuclear plants at home and overseas – further weakening the Kremlin’s grip on global energy markets.

"From large gigawatt projects to small modular reactors, the UK’s wider nuclear revival will quadruple our nuclear capacity by 2050 – helping to power Britain from Britain," she added.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added: "Nuclear is the perfect antidote to the energy challenges facing Britain - it’s green, cheaper in the long term and will ensure the UK’s energy security for the long-term."

The government's plan includes the potentially game-changing SMR reactors, which unlike conventional reactors, are smaller, can be made in factories rather than onsite, and could make construction faster and cheaper.

Great British Nuclear (GBN) started the SMR technical selection process last July and is shortly going to invite six companies it has selected to submit tenders.

Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of Nuclear Industry Association, said: "We welcome the publication of the roadmap - the commitment to explore a further large-scale project beyond Sizewell C in parallel with the deployment of SMRs is very welcome.

"We will need both large and small nuclear at scale and at pace for our energy security and net zero future."

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