Billions of pounds is being invested into Nuclear Power
It'll bring jobs to the East Midlands with plans for a new prototype fusion plant
The energy secretary's confirmed plans to invest 14-point-2 billion pounds in a new nuclear plant in Suffolk.
Ed Miliband has said the Government's plans will "kick off the biggest nuclear building programme Britain has seen in half a century".
Referring to an investment of "more than £2.5 billion in nuclear fusion", he backed plans for a new prototype fusion plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire.
Mayor Claire Ward, East Midlands Combined County Authority said:
“Innovation is not a game of chance: it takes patient, long-term investment into ingenuity, skills, and assets. This £2.5 billion investment from government ensures that the East Midlands – a region which used to power the nation – can use its assets and experience to bring about the innovation we need to shape our future.”
“The STEP programme connects the former coal-fired power station at West Burton to the cutting edge of fusion technology. And this is benefiting people now, with the programme already creating skilled work, raising aspirations, and actively engaging local supply chains.”
“The East Midlands has retired 27% of the UK’s fossil fuel powered generation capacity, and a contribution of this scale requires serious investment in return. The government’s investment in the STEP programme is just that - serious, ambitious, and global in its aspect – and will support the region to attract even more.”
“To quote the STEP strapline: ‘we’re not wishing on a star, we’re building one’. It is this investment from government that is allowing us to do this.”
"This will be the first fusion plant of its kind in the world, on the site of a former coal-fired power station - Britain leading the clean energy transition and trailblazing the technologies of the future under a Labour Government," Mr Miliband told the Commons.
He later added: "Our nuclear ambitions do not stop there. As we move ahead on these projects, we see huge potential right across the country.
"That's why we're looking to provide a route to private sector-led advanced nuclear projects, AMRs (advanced modular reactors) and SMRs (small modular reactors) to be deployed in the UK, and we will task Great British Energy Nuclear with a new role in assessing proposals and, with the national wealth fund, exploring potential investment opportunities.
"My message to the private sector is, 'if you want to build new nuclear, Britain is open for business'."
The Energy Secretary also told MPs: "My department has asked the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Cumberland Council to consider the potential for privately led clean energy development in Moorside, delivering jobs and growth in Cumbria."