British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been watching U.S. tech companies striking deals with operators and developers of nuclear power plants, and now he’s eager to pursue similar projects in the U.K.
“My message is clear: if you want to build a nuclear project in Britain, my door is open,” Miliband said. “My department is listening. We want all your ideas for projects that can work and provide value for money.”
Miliband was speaking in London on Thursday at the Nuclear Industry Association’s Nuclear 2024 conference, where he told the audience that their industry has an essential role to play in the U.K.’s pursuit of achieving a clean power system by 2030.
He said the government is “determined to drive forward” with nuclear power through both public and private investment, despite this being a period of “immense challenge for the public finances.”
Great British Nuclear (GBN), the government body tasked with spearheading the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), has started contract negotiations with four companies shortlisted for the U.K.’s small modular reactor program, and final decisions will be made next year.
Britain’s Rolls-Royce is competing with U.S.-based rivals GE Hitachi, Holtec and Westinghouse Electric for contracts to develop SMRs in the U.K. The competition was launched last year, as part of the government’s plan to replenish the country’s dwindling nuclear industry.
“Of course, it’s early days but we should be open to the potential of SMRs to power the fourth industrial revolution, just as coal powered the first,” Miliband said.
SMRs are in demand because they entail lower capital costs and shorter construction times than conventional reactors. They can be prefabricated and then assembled on site.
Governments across the world are seeking to expand their nuclear power capacity to meet increasing demands on their energy supplies, while reducing carbon emissions. And major tech companies are following suit to power their growing AI ambitions.
Google said in October that it had signed a deal to buy six or seven SMRs from California’s Kairos Power, with the first scheduled for completion by 2030, followed by additional deployments through 2035.
“The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth,” Michael Terrell, the senior director for energy and climate at Google, said at the time.
A month earlier, Microsoft struck a deal to take energy from Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, activating the nuclear plant for the first time in five years. Amazon bought a data center powered by nuclear energy in March, also in Pennsylvania, from Talen Energy.