Power Plant Siting Study

• £500k research project to build understanding of UK suitability for new generation power plants
• This project explored different opportunities and constraints
• Project considered new nuclear and fossil fuelled power stations using CCS techniques

The ETI awarded the contract for its £500k Power Plant Siting Study to Atkins. This research project considered the impact of siting constraints on the location of new low carbon nuclear and fossil fuelled power stations. The project ran in three phases.

Phase One - Examination of potential locations in the UK which meet the current siting requirements for nuclear power plant (large reactors and SMRs). Also the examination of siting requirements and potential siting conflict with thermal power plants with CCS.

Phase Two - Additional scope and respond to independent peer reviews (x2)

Phase Three - Additional examination of potential sites for the early deployment of UK SMR

Following development work, the ETI commissioned this independent study as one of its strategic knowledge building projects. It was used to inform its scenario modelling of the transition towards future UK low carbon energy systems. The aim of the project was to explore the different opportunities and constraints involved in developing sites in England and Wales for new low carbon power plants. The study considered new nuclear as well as fossil fuelled power stations using carbon capture and storage technologies. The study was important to understand the different features which could either make a potential site suitable or, alternatively, prevent its viability.

Attention to both technologies was important due to common requirements including;

• a large development area;
• access to cooling water;
• access to a grid connection;
• transport links

This study was intended to inform whether there is likely to be competition for development sites between low carbon technologies, which could be a future constraint in the low carbon replacement of the UK’s ageing power plants. It helped inform the ETI’s technology strategy development work, which looked at how to accelerate the development of new energy technologies for a UK transition to a low carbon economy.