Lord Howell of Guildford
Main Page: Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative - Life peer)
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
Under the agreement that we have just signed with the USA, that is going to happen as soon as possible, but no later than 2028.
Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)
Given that Hinkley, the French-designed nuclear project, has been billed as the most expensive the world has ever seen, and the plan is to repeat that in a replica at Sizewell, can the Minister tell us what thoughts the Government had on an alternative design at Sizewell of small reactors, which would be quicker to build, cheaper, attract more private investment and vastly reduce the demand on government funds?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
The Sizewell C position is that it will create many jobs in construction and apprenticeships, and for the next 60 years will supply energy to around 6 million homes. It is absolutely right that the idea of the SMR programme is to create a modular reactor which is easy to assemble and duplicate and will keep down costs into the future. It is imperative that we keep ahead of the curve on this.