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UK goes all-in on nuclear after years of debate

Jun 10, 2025, 6:56am EDT
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Chapelcross nuclear power station in 2007.
Chapelcross nuclear power station in 2007. Wikimedia Creative Commons Photo/Lynne Kirton/ CC BY-SA 2.0

The UK is going all-in on nuclear energy, after years of dithering.

The government moved to back a major new plant with $15 billion in funding, and said Rolls-Royce would make the country’s first small modular reactors.

Britain has not built a new nuclear plant since 1995, but one much-delayed, over-budget project capable of powering six million homes is expected to be completed this decade.

The shift to nuclear comes as Westminster seeks reliable, zero-carbon energy to buttress intermittent renewables, having “run out of road” for ignoring its power supply problems, Politico reported.

The US would do well to boost its own nuclear ambitions, three energy strategists wrote in Foreign Policy: A nuclear revival has bipartisan support, but regulatory hurdles remain.

A chart showing the share of electricity generated from nuclear for several jurisdictions.
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