Next on the blocks – Lego style nuclear plant made by module: Presentation shown to ministers amid efforts to tackle energy crisis
- Government is looking at proposals for new type of nuclear plant
- The components are built in a factory and then assembled on the site
- Presentation shows 20MW plant that is split into blocks and then assembled one on top of the other
- Each plant could power 45,000 homes and are work of company Last Energy
‘Lego-style’ nuclear plants could start powering British homes by 2025, according to plans being considered by Ministers to tackle the energy crisis.
The Government is looking at proposals for a new type of nuclear plant for which the components are built in a factory and then assembled, like the popular toy bricks, on the site.
A presentation shown to Ministers and seen by The Mail on Sunday showed a 20MW plant that is split into blocks and then assembled one on top of the other. Each plant could power 45,000 homes.
The plants were described to Ministers and officials as a ‘Lego-style’ construction by Last Energy, a US company behind the plans.
The Government is looking at proposals for a new type of nuclear plant for which the components are built in a factory and then assembled, like the popular toy bricks, on the site
A Government source said such small – or modular – nuclear plants of this type presented a ‘genuinely exciting opportunity’ and were ‘quicker and cheaper to build’.
The Government is backing Rolls-Royce’s work to develop similar modular technology, and sources said companies are in a race to be the first to bring it to life.
Last Energy, which has also met officials at the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, said it could have its first plant operational by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
The Government’s energy security strategy is set to be published this week after repeated delays because of Treasury concerns over cost. It is expected to include a target to increase the share of electricity produced from nuclear sources from 15 to 25 per cent by 2050.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said that modular nuclear plants presented an option for the future but that the technology was still in development.
He said: ‘It’s all great in theory. It is an answer – but not the immediate answer. That gap has to be filled by domestic gas’, adding that the UK also needed to looks at developing other energy sources, including fracking. Sir Iain said the plans were ‘all part of cutting your dependency on imported hydrocarbons’ in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last Energy’s proposed plants are smaller than traditional plants – one could fit inside a football pitch – and designed to be less of a blight on the landscape.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said that modular nuclear plants presented an option for the future but that the technology was still in development
The company is pitching to be given the green light to build in North Wales, before expanding to ten sites in Wales and England by 2029. Its proposals would be privately funded and not require Government cash, it said.
The move comes as thousands of onshore wind farms are expected to be built to help boost energy production.
Officials have been asked to draft plans for 30 gigawatts of onshore wind to be generated by 2030, trebling output from wind. About 7,000 wind turbines would be needed to meet the target. The plans risk a backlash from MPs in rural areas.
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