Free market groups have welcomed the government’s plans to reform planning rules around building nuclear power plants as “excellent news”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today announced the overhaul in a bid to slash red tape, fast-track approvals for new reactors and create thousands of highly skilled jobs.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) would be built in the UK for the first time, which ministers said would help deliver clean, secure and affordable energy.
The pushback to local opposition from so-called NIMBYs [‘not in my back yards’] will include: mini-nuclear power stations being included in planning rules for the first time; a list of eight sites where they can only be built being scrapped; a nuclear regulatory taskforce being set up; and the expiry date on nuclear planning rules being abolished.
It’s been welcomed by free market think tanks including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the Adam Smith Institute (ASI).
Andy Mayer, IEA energy analyst, called it “excellent news that the government is taking steps to remove barriers to building new nuclear power.”
He stressed: “Britain needs affordable reliable low carbon generation, and nuclear power is the best option today.
“The Hinkley Point C impact assessment noted it takes 14-17 years to build that type of reactor in the UK. The best places in the world can do it in 5-6 years.
“Liberalising site selection is a start to bridging that gap, but other reforms need to follow.”
Mayer urged ministers to ensure the taskforce avoids “trying to please multiple interest groups, particularly environmental and NIMBY groups, rather than slashing red tape” and that it “encourages competition” and is not “captured by a specific nuclear technology group”.
Another option, he said, could be “creating ‘freeport’-style regulatory sandboxes on the new sites that recognise the standards of safe and fast builders like South Korea”.
While a spokesperson for the ASI said: “Some good news. The government is moving to fast-track SMR construction, slash red tape and expand our nuclear capacity.
“No country can achieve high growth without abundant energy. To build more nuclear, we must: plan full reactor fleets rather than granting piecemeal approvals; align with global standards to speed up development; and reprocess nuclear waste into fuel like France and Japan.”