Holtec, EDF and Tritax announce plans to develop advanced data centres powered by small modular reactors at the former Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire.
Holtec estimate the project value to be around £11 billion, and it is expected to create thousands of high-skilled construction jobs, as well as long-term roles in operations for the local community.
GMB union, representing workers across the nuclear energy industry, has today responded to the news that the decommissioned Cottam Power Station site in Nottinghamshire has been identified as the suitable site of a future Small Modular Reactor (SMR).
Martin Allen, GMB’s Regional Secretary for the Midlands, said:
“This is hugely welcome news for working people in the Midlands.
“There is no net-zero without nuclear, and it’s clear that Small Modular Reactor technology will play a core role in Britain’s future energy mix.
“EDF, Holtec and Tritax have made welcome commitments to UK jobs, skills and investment.
“As a coal-powered station this site formally supported thousands of high skilled jobs; these plans could make that a reality again”.
Working people will benefit from jobs and growth as companies in the UK and United States sign major new deals that will turbocharge the build-out of new nuclear power stations in both countries.
The deals between US and UK companies have been enabled by a new agreement between the US and UK governments, expected to be signed at the state visit this week. This will make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both countries, for example by speeding up the time it takes for a nuclear project to get a licence from roughly three or four years to roughly two.
The deal clears the way for a major expansion of new nuclear projects in the UK, a sector which has already seen 11,000 new jobs this year following government-led investment, according to new statistics from the Nuclear Industry Association.
The expansion of nuclear power is central to the UK government’s clean energy superpower mission, as part of the UK’s drive to build more clean homegrown power to ensure energy security.
