A think tank has urged the British government to spend money earmarked for nuclear R&D on ensuring that at least three advanced reactors including at least one small modular reactor (SMR) and a Generation IV design have completed regulatory assessment by the early 2020s. Weinberg Next Nuclear’s report, Next Steps for Nuclear Innovation in the UK, notes the value of clean, low-carbon nuclear energy in improving energy security and mitigating climate change, but says that existing reactor designs have high upfront capital costs and are not sufficiently flexible to provide back-up to more intermittent generating options such as wind and solar. Advanced designs could address these drawbacks, so the UK government should support small nuclear reactors as well as large plants, the report says.
World Nuclear News 28th April 2016 read more »