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Ministers are preparing to scale back the UK’s nuclear power target in Rishi Sunak’s latest net zero climbdown.
Draft versions of a new “nuclear roadmap” circulating in Whitehall suggest Claire Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, will next month commit to building a minimum of 16 gigawatts of capacity by 2050, The Telegraph understands.
Under Boris Johnson, as prime minister, the Government promised up to 24 gigawatts of capacity by the middle of the century.
It is also understood the roadmap will not include an interim target for 2035, despite this being a key recommendation of a net zero review published in January.
The lower target is thought to follow private warnings from some parts of industry that Britain lacks the required workforce and supply chains to deliver reactors at the pace needed to reach the 24-gigawatt goal.
It is the equivalent of several major reactors not coming online. For comparison, Hinkley Point C, which is currently under construction, is expected to generate 3.2 gigawatts when it becomes operational.
It is envisioned that nuclear capacity will come from both “gigawatt-scale” plants and small modular nuclear reactors, which are a new generation of factory-built, mini-power stations.
A Whitehall source on Friday suggested that the final target remained a subject of internal debate, with Ms Coutinho still supportive of an ambition to reach 24 gigawatts.
Mr Sunak, the Prime Minister, is also understood to be enthusiastic and wants to see nuclear power generation return to levels not seen since the 1990s, when it peaked at around 30pc.
At the Cop28 conference in Dubai this month, he joined 21 other world leaders to pledge a tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050.
However, the more cautious minimum target underlines the uncertainty still surrounding parts of Britain’s nuclear programme, including how quickly it can be delivered.
It echoes Mr Sunak’s decision earlier this year to delay a 2030 ban on new petrol car sales over fears that the country’s electric car infrastructure was not developed enough.
The UK has not completed a new nuclear power station since 1995, when Sizewell B in Suffolk came online.
Meanwhile, Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the only plant under construction, has been plagued by delays and cost overruns that threaten to push back the start of generation to the 2030s, compared to an original target of 2025.
Earlier this month it was reported that the price tag for the scheme is now set to breach the latest £32.7bn estimate, up from an original proposal of £18bn, and owner EDF’s Chinese partner, China General Nuclear, is refusing to put in more cash.
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