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Nuclear Industry Association chief executive Tom Greatrex has warned the government not to repeat the mistakes made with its failed carbon capture and storage competition process as it launches the first phase of a competition to encourage the development of small modular reactors.
Former shadow energy secretary Greatrex told Utility Week: “I think broadly speaking the government is taking exactly the right approach and there are a number of essential SMR technologies and vendors that are interested.”
However, he cautioned: “There are some very obvious warning signs about unsuccessful competition processes that there have been in the past and I’m thinking particularly of the CCS one.”
The government scrapped a £1 billion competition to develop CCS at the last minute in November, claiming “the economics really aren’t working at the moment”. The move was widely criticised for damaging investor confidence.
Greatrex said a road map for SMRs set to be published by the government over the summer will be key to the success of its efforts.
SMRs are smaller versions of conventional nuclear reactors which are pre-fabricated in factories before being transported to nuclear sites. The ‘modules’ can be strung together to form larger power plants.
In November last year the chancellor George Osborne pledged to spend £250 million on nuclear research and development, including on a competition to find the best value SMR design for the UK. The first phase of the competition was launched earlier this month alongside the chancellor’s budget.
The government said the competition will seek to “gauge market interest among technology developers, utilities, potential investors and funders in developing, commercialising and financing SMRs in the UK”.
American firms NuScale Power and Westinghouse Nuclear have both confirmed they will be taking part in the first phase of the competition.
Read Utility Week’s analysis, ‘Can SMRs cut nuclear costs and investment risks’ here
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