Nuclear: Trawsfynydd site could pioneer Rolls-Royce mini reactor

SMR transporter

The project aims to have the first power generated within 8 to 10 years, and more ex-nuclear sites are being considered. R-R already powers the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet.
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There is a “pretty high probability” that Trawsfynydd could be the site of the UK’s first small nuclear power station, says the company hoping to build it.

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce wants to build a network of mini-reactors, a third of the size of current stations, says BBC Wales.

It hopes to strike a deal with the UK government within the next year.

But it says the site of the old Gwynedd reactor ticks all the boxes to pioneer the technology.

If it goes ahead it would also be one of the first small modular reactors (SMRs) in the world.

Meanwhile, a leading industry figure – who is leading the company decommissioning the old Trawsfynydd and Wylfa stations – told BBC Wales that nuclear power must be part of the energy mix if more electric cars are to be seen on our roads.

SMRs are far cheaper and faster to build than large nuclear power plants as they’re built off-site and then assembled at the locations.

Each would operate for 60 years and would provide 440 MW of electricity, according to Rolls-Royce, which is enough to power Cardiff, Swansea and Newport combined.

Some question whether the SMR model will prove economically viable even taking into account the potential for selling the design and technology to other countries.

Rolls-Royce chief technology officer Paul Stein said the nuclear physics would be exactly the same as with large scale projects but at the fraction of the cost.

“So radical is the cost reduction that we’re now in the territory of having nuclear power at the price of wind,” he said.

Full report here.