The UK is establishing the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) in Wylfa, North Wales. The project will provide electricity for 3 million homes, create thousands of jobs, and bring billions of pounds in investment.
It has been announced that the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) will be installed at a nuclear power plant to be built in North Wales. The facility, to be built in the Wylfa region, will start with three SMRs initially, but it is stated that the site could have the capacity for up to eight reactors in total.
The UK Returns to Nuclear
The project aims to generate electricity capable of powering approximately 3 million households and will be managed by the state-owned Great British Energy-Nuclear. The UK government has provided £2.5 billion in investment for the project. Furthermore, the reactors will be of Rolls-Royce design. Final contracts are expected to be signed by the end of this year. Each Rolls-Royce SMR will generate 470 megawatts of energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that the UK was once a world leader in nuclear energy but fell behind due to years of neglect, adding that this will change with the new project.
SMRs generate electricity by producing heat through nuclear reactions, similar to large reactors, but their size is much smaller, and their power capacity is about one-third. This small structure greatly simplifies their installation. Just like Ikea furniture, they are manufactured in a factory and assembled on-site. This allows for significant cost savings. As is known, the construction of traditional large power plants can take more than a decade. In the Wylfa project, however, the reactors are planned to be connected to the grid in the 2030s. The project will also create 3,000 new local jobs.
What is an SMR (Small Modular Reactor)?
An SMR, or Small Modular Reactor, is an advanced type of nuclear fission reactor that is significantly smaller and more flexible than conventional, large-scale nuclear power plants.
Here are its defining characteristics:
- Small: SMRs are defined by their power output, typically producing up to 300 megawatts of electricity (MWe). In contrast, traditional large-scale reactors often generate 1,000 MWe or more.
- Modular: This is a key feature. The term “modular” means that SMRs are designed to be manufactured almost entirely in a factory and then transported to the site for assembly. This “plug-and-play” approach is very different from traditional reactors, which are custom-built on-site over many years.
- Reactor: Like all nuclear reactors, they use nuclear fission (the process of splitting atoms) to generate intense heat. This heat is used to create steam, which in turn drives turbines to produce electricity.
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