National Grid: Capacity

Lord Ravensdale Excerpts

Monday 11th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ravensdale (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I declare my interests as in the register. The energy White Paper commits to opening the generic design assessment to SMR technologies this year. Can the Minister say how many GDA slots will be available—by that I mean how many SMR designs will be able to be supported through GDA—and at what point in the year will SMR GDA open?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I cannot give a specific answer on how many designs will be expected to be announced, but we are currently finalising arrangements to open the generic design assessment. We will provide more information in due course. Our aim is to invite applications to BEIS in quarter 2 of this year. In the meantime, the Government have announced £40 million for developing regulatory frameworks and supporting the supply chains for SMRs in the United Kingdom.