MediaResponding to Energy Secretary Grant Shapps launching a competition for small modular reactors, Sam Richards, founder and campaign director for Britain Remade, said:
“Small modular reactors could be game-changing. If we get this right, we could have fleets of these next generation nuclear reactors across the country providing clean, secure domestic energy that will bring down bills for millions of people.
“But to achieve this Government needs to make sure the new reactors don’t get caught in the same red tape as their bigger cousins. If every new small reactor needs to submit an onerous environmental impact assessment as part of their planning application- the planning application for Sizewell C comes in at over 40,000 pages - it will kill off any chance of them ever taking off in Britain.
“As well as making sure red tape and bureaucracy is cut, ministers need to release a siting strategy now. This should include all existing nuclear power locations and former industrial sites. If we wait for GB Nuclear to secure funding from the Treasury before even looking where new SMRs should be built, Government will miss this golden opportunity and condemn the country to higher energy bills for years to come.”