Recommendation 22

International examples suggest that the best way to bring the cost of nuclear energy generation down is to build a programme of new nuclear reactors, so that supply chains and skills can be developed and transferred from one project to the next. The Government has taken steps in this direction, with plans to establish a programme of new nuclear projects, supported by Great British Nuclear, and to launch a competition to select the leading small modular reactors. The Government’s nuclear roadmap, due later this year, should set out the options for delivering the nuclear capacity the UK will need by 2050, including options for financing these new projects. Great British Nuclear should advise on how such a programme should be phased, including how to decide how much nuclear capacity is needed and the type of nuclear technologies the UK should deploy and when.