UK Nuclear Plans

The UK government is looking to ‘a new golden age of nuclear’,

committing £17 billion to ‘the most ambitious programme of new plants
for a generation’. As its new Advanced Nuclear Frameworks plan says, in
the 2025 Spending Review, it committed £14.2 billion to Sizewell C and
over £2.5 billion to the Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE N) Small
Modular Reactor (SMR) project at Wylfa. And it says ‘together with
Hinkley Point C, these projects will add almost 8 GW of capacity in the
2030s’. However, it also wants to do more, with plans for advanced
nuclear, some based on US Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) developments. As
it notes, some major commercial deals have been concluded between UK and US
companies, including ‘plans for X-Energy and Centrica to build 12
advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, supporting 2,500 jobs, as well as
plans for Holtec, EDF, and Tritax to build small modular reactors at the
former coal-fired power station Cottam in Nottinghamshire, providing clean,
secure power to data centres on the site’. Meanwhile it says
‘TerraPower is working with engineering firm KBR to explore the potential
deployment of its Natrium advanced reactor technology in the UK &
beyond’. It also noted that ‘Last Energy & DP World intend to create
one of the world’s first micro modular nuclear plants at London Gateway,
backed by £80m in private money’. These MMRs are meant to be under 20MW.
The UK is doing well on replacing fossil with low cost renewables, but,
after having its financial fingers burnt by EDF’s high cost EPRs, it
still seems strangely locked into uncertain and likely to be high cost new
nuclear.

 Renew Extra 28th Feb 2026 

 https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2026/02/golden-dreams-uk-advanced-nuclear-plan.html