We have learnt that Carlisle and West Cumbria are in a race to the bottom but Carlisle is winning.
I’m writing in response to your article “Reactor to Give Britain Global lead” 5th January. It’s just a bit premature for Mark Jenkinson MP and John Coughlan of TSP Engineering to be celebrating. In fact, it’s hyperbole, and we can only speculate why they would do that.
When I was interviewed on the day of unexpected announcement, I pointed out that the licensing process usually takes about three years, and that the sites that intend to use the “Small Modular Reactors” (SMR) must be licensed too. That meant the expected date of 2027 for production was ridiculously optimistic.
Since then I have seen confirmation from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that the vaunted “Nucell” technology has not even got through the first step of the process. It has not got through the BEIS competition to be recommended to go forward to the Office of Nuclear Regulation for a GDA* to start.
In fact, only one SMR technology has started the licensing process and that was in April 2022 and in BEIS words “no recently submitted GDA has been completed, nor is any successful completion expected soon.” The technology currently being assessed belongs to Rolls Royce, who have listed Carlisle Kingmoor as one of its shortlisted sites.
Of course it may be found not to meet safety criteria, or to be too expensive or BEIS may eventually realise that, as there is no solution to the nuclear waste problem, it makes no sense to be creating more. So, all in all, none of this speculation is good for Cumbria, the country or the world.
Cllr. Jill Perry
*GDA Generic Design Assessment
Published in the Times and Star 19.1.23
