Mini nuclear plants to be built almost anywhere in UK

[Default0ptions]

“Mini-nuclear power plants will be allowed almost anywhere outside built-up areas, as ministers relax planning rules to allow a “reawakening” of atomic electricity.

“Under plans to quadruple capacity in the next quarter of a century, ministers want a fleet of “small modular reactors” to be built across Britain alongside large power plants.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nucl ... -rv5qxhzg2

I’ve mixed feelings about this. On the one hand we’ve got a lot of experience building, running, maintaining and (possibly) decommissioning submarine sized nuclear reactors.

On the other hand these are still nuclear reactors

[Ralphw2]

They will still be a lot more expensive than renewables, and with the rapid research in battery technology, it won't be long before wind and or solar with long term storage is also cheaper.

[adam2]

If this can be delivered more cheaply than wind/solar+ storage then I am in favour.
I suspect however that the planning process and the scale of enquires/studies/nimbyfests will render this slower and more expensive than renewables.
I would also only support this if design and manufacture was UK based and not reliant on russia, china, and other similar places.

[Default0ptions]

Yeah I agree

[BritDownUnder]

Smaller modular reactors will by definition be smaller and be more of them for a given output. This will mean there are more nuclear sites for NIMBYs to complain about and be a security risk. What you with them after they are done I don't know? Both sides in the Cold war have them stored somewhere a lot of them still on the subs themselves. I think a few were even tipped off ships into a convenient ocean trench somewhere in the Arctic to get rid of 'em.

A lot of recent Uranium supplied to the West was from Russia so that's food for thought.

[Default0ptions]

Yeah you’re right there about Uranium producers BDU

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... production