Bosses from Rolls-Royce have visited West Cumbria as the firm looks for locations to site its small modular reactors.
Senior representatives from the firm visited the site. to the south of Sellafield, with Copeland MP Trudy Harrison.
The visit was part of work to identify opportunities for Small Modular Reactor power plants – each capable of producing 470MW of electricity.
Alastair Evans, Rolls-Royce SMR’s director of corporate and government affairs, said: “There are several reasons why building Rolls-Royce SMRs in West Cumbria – Britain’s nuclear heartland – makes sense.
“These include the ability to power the grid with affordable low-carbon electricity and feed energy intensive industrial processes, potentially including those at the nearby Sellafield site.
“It was fascinating to visit the site and spend time with Mrs Harrison, who has limitless enthusiasm for bringing new nuclear back to West Cumbria and sees the opportunity that Rolls-Royce SMRs can bring to the region.”
The visit follows a recent meeting at Wylfa, on Anglesey, with Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, where Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Tom Samson confirmed his commitment to North Wales, as well as West Cumbria, as targets for building SMR power plants.
Mrs Harrison added: “Today’s tour has been another step in the right direction, towards bringing SMRs to Copeland, and I’d like to thank colleagues from Rolls-Royce SMR for the visit.
“I am committed to the rollout of SMRs and nowhere stands a better chance of success in hosting the first reactors than Copeland, specifically land to the south of the Sellafield site.
“It is one of a handful of suitable sites, with supportive neighbours at Sellafield and a qualified, experienced workforce across our local supply chain. Additionally, no other council has as much planning experience, over many decades, as Copeland Borough Council and never have we needed UK energy security more than today.”
