EnergyEnded 7 Oct
Should the UK expand its nuclear power capacity as part of its future energy mix?
Yes 81%No 19%1,562 votes cast
The UK currently has nine operational nuclear reactors with around 5.9 GW capacity, generating about 12-15% of electricity, but over 80% of this is due to close by 2030 as ageing AGR plants are decommissioned. The government is pursuing a target of 24 GW by 2050 through projects like Hinkley Point C (due online around 2030) and Sizewell C, plus support for small modular reactors, as part of efforts to achieve energy security and net zero while many existing stations enter decommissioning.
54 Opinions
Yes clearly & should have been done a long time ago. Build nuclear (without bloody fish discos) & also roll out the small modular nuclear as well. We have the tech, we just have had a procession of hopeless govts who have undermined our energy supply and, thus, jobs and industry. We just need to stop talking about it, stop the environment agency mucking it all up And just get on with it
We are: Close on renewables Behind on nuclear Behind on storage Behind on CCS - why 😭 Too dependent on gas (!) We gotta get: Hinkley C done Sizewell C started properly SMRs financed 10–20 GW more offshore wind Massive storage build-out Grid flexibility upgrades Mixed model, but oil & gas is the back up, back up, you hear! It's the year 2026. Why are we so slow!? Snails might evolve into the dominant species if we keep up at our lovely-resist-everything pace. ⭐️⭐️⭐ Edited
I feel like nuclear is essential to our carbon free future transition but I don't know how the private sector can possibly deliver it, or any major public works honestly. I think the government should set up a public company to deliver these future plants and just brute force it instead of tendering contracts and all the usual bull the British have to suffer when it comes to infrastructure projects. Please just get one done!
I do not like nuclear anything. But needs must. I'd prefer wind solar and wave but you need a back up
I can see the left is as clueless today as it was 40 years ago when all this should have kicked off. There's an alternative timeline where most energy no longer depends on foreign wars and we've stopped relying on gas & petrol so much, but alas the opportunities were squandered building solar panels on perfectly arable land and destroying landscapes with wind turbines. So much for being green
Of course! We all knew it 50 years ago!
YES Without doubt it's the only sensible answer to our energy issues. More importantly the UK should be investing heavily in the research around the 'fusion reactors'. Once these are working it's almost free energy. Which it's expected will happen within the next 5 to 10 yrs
We lost our leadership in this. We need to get it back, pronto. I started my career at the UKAEA at a site with 6 reactors (5 test beds and 1 on the grid). Now it does "clean energy innovation and decommissioning". Unless clean includes safe fusion and fission, that doesn't sound promising.
Yes. Nuclear must be a major part of Britain's future energy mix. Build large reactors where appropriate, but accelerate a fleet of British-built SMRs: standardised designs, factory production and repeat builds rather than reinventing every station. Combine nuclear baseload with renewables, storage and domestic gas to create a resilient system. Energy security is national security, and SMRs give Britain an opportunity to rebuild sovereign nuclear engineering and manufacturing
Nuclear is very clean energy but fusion is better