Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of storage capabilities of small modular reactors to power AI datacentres.

Consumption from datacentres has been forecast by NESO to increase and require an uninterrupted supply of electricity. SMRs have potential as a dedicated energy source for datacentres, given their potential to provide a near-constant supply of low-carbon electricity. SMRs do not have traditional storage capabilities, however some SMRs could be paired with thermal energy storage or grid-scale electricity storage to provide backup power and enhance their flexibility.