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Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected as the preferred nuclear technology provider for the newly-formed Solway Community Power Company planning to bring new nuclear power to West Cumbria in northwest UK.

At a launch event hosted by Copeland MP Trudy Harrison, the Chief Executive of Solway Community Power Company, Paul Foster, laid out his plans to bring Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to West Cumbria.

Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Tom Samson said: “We have prioritised a number of locations across England and Wales, including land close to the Sellafield site, with the potential to deploy the first in a fleet of Rolls-Royce SMR power stations. By utilising land owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in West Cumbria and partnering with Solway, we put ourselves in the strongest possible position to bring new nuclear on stream as close to 2030 as possible.

“The formation of a UK nuclear developer, committed to bringing new nuclear to West Cumbria, is excellent news and I’m delighted they have chosen to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs - the UK’s sovereign nuclear technology.”

Paul Foster said: "Nuclear is a core part of our identity and heritage in West Cumbria, and we have a huge opportunity now to create new opportunities through the deployment of the Rolls Royce SMR. It’s not only about the jobs and supply chains needed to build and run it. It’s also about the new investments and industry sectors we could attract to the region, with an energy surplus to offer.

"The critical pieces already exist, such as land that could be suitable, interest from investors, and of course the modular solution from Rolls Royce SMR. Our job at Solway is to pull it all together - and we’ll be working closely with our community, who have an enduring stake in both its development and its decades of operation."

Trudy Harrison MP added: “I have always maintained that there is no better site in the UK – perhaps in the world – for Rolls-Royce SMR to locate their reactors than on land adjacent to Sellafield. We have the site, skills, experience and supply chain ready-made. Now the job of the new development company is to ensure this happens – to continue the legacy of world-class skills and opportunity in our area – and with Paul Foster at the helm, I have absolute confidence that this will be achieved.”

Each Rolls-Royce SMR will be factory built and capable of generating 470MW of electricity from a sustainable source – each generating enough clean energy to power a million homes for 60 years. Deploying a fleet of SMRs in the UK would create 40,000 jobs across England and Wales.

Solway Community Power Company, chaired by former Sellafield Ltd CEO Paul Foster and based in Copeland, has set out a 10-year plan to bring at least one SMR to Cumbria by 2030, with the potential for more to be created by 2033. The new firm has already applied for funding to create the new power station from the Government and it hopes it will have Whitehall commitment the end of this year, with funding talks set to take place in early 2023.

The detailed manufacturing design, site surveys and generic design assessments for the SMR site have already started, and the main construction and commissioning of the site will start in 2026.

Image: Artist's impression of how two Rolls-Royce SMR power stations deployed on one site would look (courtesy of Rolls-Royce SMR)

Date: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsrolls-royce-smr-selected-for-west-cumbria-10358125