Speaking following the Government's Spending Review statements, President of the Nuclear Institute Professor Fiona Rayment OBE FREng FNucI said:
“We strongly welcome the Government’s announcement of funding and support for the nuclear industry, which has a key role to play in meeting its energy security, national defence and economic ambitions."
Reaction from the Nuclear Institute
Support for Sizewell C represents an important step towards ensuring that we have the infrastructure needed to meet the country’s long-term energy needs.
The funding for Sizewell C will drive the delivery of large-scale, clean energy, while investment in SMRs positions the UK as a global leader in innovative nuclear technology.
This follows a welcome commitment to supporting nuclear defence, announced in the Strategic Defence Review last week. This review outlined a vision for future-proofed and innovative approach, of which nuclear forms a key part, ensuring robust capabilities, job creation, and long-term national security.
The government is also right to recognise that pace of delivery matters. We are at a critical moment. The backdrop of global political challenges and the impacts of climate change mean nuclear power has never been more vital. Nuclear power provides a stable, carbon-free energy source, enhancing energy security through readily available fuel supplies and UK-based infrastructure.
Beyond this, the nuclear sector is a huge contributor to the UK economy, supporting around 87,000 jobs, with up to 40,000 net new entrants needed by 2030 to keep pace with the growth of the sector. There is a severe skills shortage of nuclear workers in the UK. This investment needs to help address that skills gap and futureproof the sector.
As a membership body, we continue to work closely with Government and will continue to advocate for our members who are delivering what our country needs. Our members stand ready to ensure these projects are delivered efficiently and effectively and we look forward to seeing the UK deliver a cleaner, more secure energy landscape for generations to come.
Now we focus on delivery.
Key takeaways
- 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships, to be created in the construction of Sizewell C
- Great British Nuclear is being renamed to Great British Energy – Nuclear, an allied company to Great British Energy
- Rolls-Royce SMR selected as preferred bidder to build country’s first small modular reactors.
- Great British Energy - Nuclear pledging over £2.5 billion for the overall SMR programme and aiming to allocate a site later this year and connect projects to the grid in the mid-2030s. This project could potentially support up to 3,000 new skilled jobs and powering the equivalent of around 3 million homes.
- Over £6bn to enable a transformation in the capacity, capability and productivity of the UK's submarine industrial base, including at BAE Systems in Barrow and Rolls-Royce Submarines in Derby – to deliver the increase in the submarine production rate announced in the Strategic Defence Review.
- Record investment in R&D for fusion energy, investing over £2.5 billion over 5 years. This includes progressing the STEP programme (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), the world-leading fusion plant in Nottinghamshire, creating thousands of new jobs and with the potential to unlock limitless clean power.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:
“We are ending the no-nuclear status quo as part of our Plan for Change and are entering a golden age of nuclear with the biggest building programme in a generation.
“Great British Energy - Nuclear has run a rigorous competition and will now work with the preferred bidder Rolls-Royce SMR to build the country’s first ever small modular reactors – creating thousands of jobs and growing our regional economies while strengthening our energy security.”
Gwen Parry-Jones HonFNucI, CEO of Great British Energy – Nuclear (and former Nuclear Institute President) said:
“We are proud to lead this national mission. Nuclear is the cornerstone of the UK’s energy strategy, and today’s announcement will accelerate deployment.
“Together with Rolls-Royce SMR, our selected preferred bidder, and subject to government approvals and contract signature, we will deliver a programme that is technically world-class and delivers real value to the British people—through energy security, economic opportunity, and environmental leadership.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors
This statement is intended for use in response to the government’s nuclear support package announcement, which is detailed here