UK to speed up the deployment of mini-nuclear reactors

The UK Labour Government said Thursday that changes to the planning law will speed up the country’s deployment of mini-nuclear reactors aimed at providing cheaper and cleaner energy.

“The reform of planning rules will clear the path to making it easier to build smaller, safer, easier reactors known as the first small modular reactor (SMR) to be built in the UK Let’s do it,” the statement said.

“This creates thousands of new, highly skilled jobs while providing workers with clean, safe and affordable energy.”

The government led by Prime Minister Kiel Starmer pointed out that China has built 29 nuclear reactors and that the European Union has 12 in the planning stage.

“My government was elected to make a difference,” said the party, which established power in July after 14 years of conservative rule.

“We will make the radical decisions necessary to turbocharge our plans for change and strive to wrest the UK out of its current slumber.”

The current plan limits nuclear development to just eight UK sites.

Greenpeace has expressed skepticism about change and urged the government to focus on renewable energies, including wind and the sun.

The workers present that “the single thing is not built as a fact that is merely optimistic speculation about small reactor costs, delivery speeds and safety. ” said Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s policy director, in a statement. .

While abolishing site numbers restrictions on Thursday, the government stressed that “there will continue to be robust standards at the core of nuclear reactors, including restrictions close to densely populated areas and military activities,” taking into account environmental impacts. He added that he would put it in.

Labour believes that relaxing restrictions in various sectors will help grow the stagnant UK economy. It claims that for the nuclear industry it should help to emit zero carbon emissions and improve energy security.

“The British have long been vulnerable to the global energy market, and the only way is to build our path in a new era of clean electricity,” Ed Miliband stated. I mentioned it in.

As the UK aims to completely decarbonise its energy grid by 2030, five nuclear power plants are operating, four of which will last a lifetime, according to a December announcement by French operator EDF. I will extend it.

The EDF, which is building a new nuclear power plant Hinckley Point C in southwest England, decided last year to withdraw interest in building UK SMR.

©2025 AFP