Study identifies potential sites for small modular reactors

The company said that this is the first phase in a programme of work considering siting, collaboration opportunities and the socio-economic benefits of deploying Rolls-Royce SMR units on land within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) estate, with other UK locations also being evaluated.

The work is consistent with NDA’s aim of cleaning up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites and releasing them for uses that benefit local communities and the environment.

The study has identified sites on the NDA estate that could host several GW of new, low-carbon power from Rolls-Royce SMRs with four NDA sites prioritised. Of these, Rolls-Royce SMR has identified two within NDA controlled land at Trawsfynydd and land neighbouring the Sellafield site, plus NDA land at Wylfa and Oldbury that is leased to a third party.

Rolls-Royce SMR matched the sites against a set of assessment criteria - including existing geotechnical data, adequate grid connection and a site large enough for multiple SMRs - that will enable stations to be operational by the early 2030s.