On the path to making the UK a clean energy superpower, today the government has announced measures for cutting regulatory red tape to make way for development of nuclear power plants in England and Wales. The government’s “Plan for Change” strategy includes permitting small modular reactors to be built in the UK to support critical infrastructure and meet the demands of energy intensive advancements in technology and AI. This aligns with a recently published policy paper on advanced nuclear technologies. Great British Nuclear has already started negotiations with a shortlist of bidders into the UK’s Small Modular Reactor Program. 

In today’s announcement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer identified the key proposed changes that will be the pillars of the plan for nuclear power for energy security, a clean energy mix, economic growth and employment in the UK:

• Including mini-nuclear power stations in planning rules for the first time. Advantages include location flexibility.
• Scrapping the set list of 8-sites. This allows for an expansion in the possible development across England and Wales.
• Removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules, to ensure that long-term projects could be planned. 
• Setting up a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, reporting directly to the PM, to spearhead improvements to the regulations.

Earlier this year the government issued the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Opportunities Action Plan policy paper outlining its ambition to make the UK an “AI superpower” recognising that this will require significant capital investment in data centres, which, in turn, will require abundant, accessible and cost-efficient energy. As part of its mandate, an AI Energy Council will be established to accelerate investment in innovative energy solutions, including small modular reactors. 

The UK government is making wide-reaching plans for change, and consultations on policy proposals are emerging at a rapid rate as the need grows for an investor-friendly framework to boost the UK's appeal as an attractive destination for global capital. Whether its the recent UK commitment to an 81% emissions cut by 2035, becoming an energy superpower or bolstering AI as a sector, the UK’s Plan for Change looks set to present some unexpected opportunities.