The United Kingdom plans to relax the requirements for selecting sites for nuclear power plants in order to stimulate the development of an industry that is facing tough times. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing informed sources.
The new rules will provide more flexibility in choosing locations for new nuclear reactors, removing the current restrictions set by the government. Currently, only eight sites are designated for nuclear power plants in the UK.
It is expected that the announcement about these changes will be made on Thursday as part of the Labour government’s efforts to encourage investment in the energy sector and support economic growth. Nuclear energy will play an important role in the plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with nuclear plants serving as a backup energy source when wind and solar power cannot meet demand.
Consultations on the new nuclear policy, known as EN7, began under the previous Conservative government, with an ambitious goal to reach 24 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050—four times the current level.