Justification Decision (Generation of Power by the RR SMR) Regulations 2026

Baroness Grender Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome these regulations. This is the right thing to do, and it is the right time to do it, because our energy security is under real pressure. We need every credible part of the low-carbon mix working as hard as it can.

This order will give legal effect to the decision that the Rolls-Royce small modular reactor is justified under the 2004 regulations. It is a generic and non-site-specific decision. It does not authorise a single spade in the ground, still less the construction or operation of the reactor. All the real-world hurdles remain: environmental permits, a nuclear site licence, planning consent and all the other approvals that any serious project must secure. It was good to hear the reassurances on that front from the Minister.

That matters, because this Committee should be clear about what is being decided and what is not, as the Minister said. We are not approving a reactor to be built tomorrow; we are saying that, in principle, the design has passed the justification test. That is sensible, and we support it. But it is not the same thing as delivery, and we are clear that we do not want it to be confused with a regulatory green light, with progress on the ground.

Our central point is that we believe the best way to cut bills for everyone is to invest in home-grown renewable power, electricity storage and the infrastructure that gets clean electricity to where it is needed. That is where the quickest gains are, where the biggest jobs dividend is and where the strongest long-term energy security will come from. So we support SMRs and we support this justification decision, but we should not let the enthusiasm for emerging nuclear technology become an excuse to drift back into the bad old habits of overpromising on nuclear while underdelivering on renewables. Large-scale, expensive and slow-to-deliver nuclear projects have had years to demonstrate their value. Too often, they have done the opposite; they have tied up time, money and political attention that could have been used more productively and more proactively elsewhere.

That is why the balance matters. SMRs may well have a role to play, and this design may contribute to a more secure decarbonised grid, but the Government must be absolutely clear that the priority is not to deepen our dependence on the old model of nuclear development. The priority is to accelerate renewables generation, storage and the modern grid that can support them.

It will astonish the Minister to hear that I have only one question regarding this SI. How will the Government make sure that support for Rolls-Royce SMR does not slow down the pace of renewables and storage, so that we ensure that this is genuinely complementary rather than competitive with the faster deployment of the clean power that is already available? How will the Government avoid the familiar pattern in which nuclear projects absorb the oxygen while more agile solutions are left waiting in the wings?

We support this instrument but we do so on all those clear understandings—that it is part of a wider energy strategy, not a substitute one. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.