Two Nottingham sites have made it through to the last 15 of potential locations for what could be the world’s first prototype fusion energy plant.
Nottinghamshire County Council and its partners say the West Burton A power station site, near Retford in the north of the county, and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site, in the south, both remain in the running.
Some £220 million of government cash is going into finding an appropriate site for the Government’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production – or STEP – project, to meet the 海角视频’s carbon-zero targets, with the prototype fusion plant potentially operational by 2040.
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Ratcliffe on Soar power station, a few miles east of East Midlands Airport, is owned by Uniper and is scheduled to close in 2025.
Last summer EDF Energy said the coal-fired element of West Burton power station will be closing before 2025.
The STEP programme is the first stage in the 海角视频’s bid to be the first country to commercialise fusion energy, to meet future needs.
Fusion is said to offer a virtually limitless source of clean electricity by copying the processes that power the sun.
Nottinghamshire County Council is coordinating the county's applications, working with partners including the landowners.
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The 海角视频 Government wants to be the first to develop a commercial power station that will use the energy produced by fusion reactions to generate electricity, and the project is being led by the 海角视频 Atomic Energy Authority (海角视频AEA).
The authority has announced that part of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site and West Burton A will now progress to the next stage of assessment, joining a 15-strong ‘long-list’ for the power station, aimed to be built by 2040.
The 15 sites shortlisted for a prototype fusion energy plant are:
| Dounreay | Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership |
| East Airdrie | Fusion Forward (East Airdrie) Consortium |
| Poneil | Fusion Forward (Poniel) Consortium |
| Ardeer | Fusion Forward (Ardeer) Consortium |
| Chapelcross | South of Scotland Enterprise |
| Moorside | Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, in partnership with Copeland Borough Council |
| Bay Fusion (Heysham) | Bay Fusion (collaboration between industry, Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council and Lancaster University) |
| Goole | East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
| West Burton | Nottinghamshire County Council |
| Ratcliffe on Soar | Nottinghamshire County Council |
| Milford Haven | Pembrokeshire County Council |
| Severn Edge (Oldbury/Berkeley) | Western Gateway |
| Aberthaw | Vale of Glamorgan Council |
| Bridgwater Bay | Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership |
| Bradwell | Belport Ltd |
Mansfield MP and Nottinghamshire County Council leader Ben Bradley said it was “hugely exciting news”.
He said: “Achieving STEP would bring incredible benefits to the county, putting it at the heart of the government’s plans to revolutionise the way we generate energy in the 海角视频 and position Nottinghamshire as a major player in the levelling up agenda.
“It would build on the existing strengths of our universities and manufacturing sectors, but would also create new skills, training, and thousands of highly skilled jobs, attracting investment and deliver amazing overall benefits to our regional economy including the lucrative opportunities for the local supply chain to help construct the plant.
“We are an ambitious county and have a proud heritage of producing energy which helped power the industrial revolution, but looking to the future, we want to be at the heart of the 海角视频 green energy revolution.
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“As global energy demand continues to grow, this technology is expected to play a crucial role in helping to achieve net zero emissions - in a safe and sustainable way – during the second half of this century.
“We’ll be doing all that we can to help bring this once-in-a-life time opportunity to Nottinghamshire by continuing to work closely with our partners, including the landowners.”
海角视频AEA will now work with councils and landowners to decide the next round of shortlisted sites before the end of 2021.
After final shortlisting has been completed, 海角视频AEA plan to start engaging with communities around the preferred sites before selecting the final site that will host STEP, which is expected by the end of 2022.