(Folkestone and Hythe)
(Con):...I regard the entire estate of nuclear sites in the UK,
both civil and military, as national assets: sites for the future
where, in particular, technologies such as SMRs can be deployed.
There is overwhelming local support for that from the community
that has benefited for many years from its association with the
nuclear industry as well as from our local authorities. Kent
County Council and Folkestone and Hythe District Council have
published a joint statement today supporting my efforts in
raising the issue in this debate. They are also willing to do
anything they can to help secure the investment at Dungeness from
a new SMR provider, such as Rolls-Royce
though there may be other companies as well.
In trying to give certainty to the nuclear industry on the siting
of SMRs, it is also important that we look at the land available
and who owns it. The land at Dungeness A is owned by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority, a public body. The land at Dungeness B
is owned by the operator EDF Energy. When it finishes defueling,
it will hand over the power station to the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority to commence the advanced
decommissioning of Dungeness B. It will not necessarily hand over
or be likely to hand over the entire landholding for Dungeness B.
That raises an important issue for the future: if a provider, be
it Rolls-Royce or
another company, came along and said that it thought there was
the possibility of having SMRs at Dungeness, but it required
using land that is not owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority or by a combination of NDA land and land owned by EDF,
could that make progress without the consent of the landowners?
When I discussed the suitability of the site with the SMR
delivery team at Rolls-Royce
they said that the SMRs are constructed to sit on a bed of
shingle, and anyone who has been to Dungeness knows that one
thing we do not lack is shingle. The Minister is more than
welcome to come and join me for fish and chips at the Pilot Inn
in Dungeness, and to look at the site for himself. He will see
what an excellent location it is. The grid connections are there,
the community support is there, and there is land available for
this new technology. We just need to give a signal to the nuclear
industry that this is a site that has Government support.
Ultimately, it will be up to the nuclear industry to take that
forward, but at least there are no artificial barriers in place
that might restrict a business in doing so...
The Minister for Energy and Climate ():...SMRs could offer a
potential route for the UK to enhance its capability in
engineering and manufacturing, through innovation, advanced
techniques and new facilities. They could bring significant
regional and socioeconomic benefits, including the creation of
high-value manufacturing and engineering jobs. We have been
progressing the development of SMRs through the advanced nuclear
fund, which includes a significant Government investment of up to
£210 million to develop the Rolls-Royce SMR,
and up to £170 million to support advanced modular reactor
demonstrations, which is the next stage of development...
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