The photo is sourced from openaccessgovernment.org
The ONR document was the first UK issued license for a nuclear reactor project in more than 10 years. The most recent license was granted in 2012 for the Hinkley Point C project consisting of two reactors with a total capacity of 3.4 GW, which are currently under construction. The ONR license gives Sizewell C, the project operator, legal responsibility for compliance with the health, industrial and nuclear safety regulations, and also requires compliance with 36 conditions relating to the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear reactors. However, Sizewell C also has to obtain a building permit.
By early 2024, nine nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6.5 GW had regularly generated electricity in the UK, and two more power units with a capacity of 3.4 GW were under construction (the Hinkley Point C project). At the same time, there were four more reactors at the pre-investment stage: two power units of the mentioned Sizewell C project with a capacity of 3.2 GW, as well as two power units of the Bradwell B project with a capacity of 2.3 GW in Essex County, southeast England. A number of projects are under discussion, including the Moorside clean energy hub in the north of England, which will include two 3.2 GW reactors, as well as the reactor projects in Scotland, which are supposed to compensate for the closure of the Torness NPP with 1. 3 GW capacity (50 km from Edinburgh) planned for 2028
Introduction of new NPPs will allow the UK to balance the energy system after abandoning coal. According to the Global Energy Monitor, 88 coal power units with a total capacity of 33.7 GW were decommissioned in the UK between 2000 and 2023, as a result, the coal share in the power generation mix decreased from 32% to 1%. The overall share of coal, gas and oil-fired power plants fell from 75% to 40% over the same period, while the share of low-carbon sources increased from 25% to 60%.
