Plans to bring nuclear power back to Dungeness have moved a step closer after two local councils revealed plans to press the government to include the Romney Marsh site in a list of possible power stations. Documents for the cabinet meeting of Folkestone and Hythe District Council on April 20 show discussions have already begun with Rolls Royce who make Small Modular Reactors and EDF who provide Advanced Modular Reactors.
Along with Kent County Council, FHDC has also been talking to Natural England and the Nuclear Industry Authority. The papers say the councils are “bringing forward a proposition for Dungeness to generate power as quickly as possible”. It comes after chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the “Great British Nuclear” scheme last month – reclassifying nuclear power as “environmentally sustainable”, reducing the costs of generating it to produce 25% of the UK’s electricity by 2050.
The two power stations at Dungeness no longer make any electricity. Dungeness A stopped producing power in 2006, was defuelled in 2012, and demolition of parts of the building began in 2015. Dungeness B is currently being defuelled after technical issues were discovered by the current owners EDF in 2021.
The report adds the councils will aim to “set some high-level criteria around site use, scale and potential for the site”. The councils will then have to establish test criteria around “environmental restrictions; phasing of new nuclear on site alongside decommissioning activity; community engagement and support; economic impact and commercial viability internally and with a range of partners”.
FHDC leader David Monk (Con) described the scheme as “absolutely exciting. The power station is an economic driver for the district. So the idea is to encourage the government to allow some small modular reactors to be fitted on one of the sites. Overall, the Romney Marsh is very nuclear tolerant. After all, a whole load of them helped build the place and a whole load of them work there. If there’s competition for these power stations up and down the country, then we want to be at the forefront of it.”
However, others on FHDC don’t agree. Cabinet member Lesley Whybrow (Green) said: “My big worry with it is what happens with the nuclear waste afterwards. Because it’s radioactive for tens of thousands of years it really needs to be stored deep underground.”
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are a proposed class of fission reactors, which are physically smaller and faster to construct than conventional nuclear reactors. Rolls Royce began work on a SMR design in 2015, and the company says it “expects to receive UK regulatory approval” for the design by mid-2024, and wants to roll out the 470-megawatt atomic generators for use in the UK’s energy system.
Cllr Whybrow added: “Even a small modular reactor is going to take a while to build and a lot of money to build, my view is that while you’re doing that you could be providing renewable energy, you could be providing green jobs for retrofitting houses. I think it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll end up with one and I think it’s just raising false hopes really.”
