Gaining such a licence, Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) said, represents “a landmark moment” in its mission to deliver Europe’s first small modular reactors (SMRs). “Acquiring a generation licence is one of the first in a chain of approvals needed to construct and operate power infrastructure in the UK. Having this certification means Ofgem deems GBE-N to be a qualified, well-run organisation, which is capable of meeting national safety standards in electricity generation.”
“This milestone reflects the dedication and expertise of our team, whose efforts in technical planning and rigorous compliance have enabled us to meet Ofgem’s high standards,” said Simon Bowen, Chair of GBE-N. “Our newly secured licence empowers us to contribute significantly to the country’s energy security, bolstering grid resilience, and decarbonising our economy. This is another proof-point that we are delivering new nuclear at pace and with focus.”
The UK government launched GBE-N in 2023 as an arms-length body that will be responsible for driving the delivery of new nuclear projects, with the aim of increasing the share of nuclear in the UK’s electricity mix from the current 15% to 25% by 2050.
In June last year, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as the UK government’s preferred technology for the country’s first SMR project. A final investment decision is expected to be taken in 2029.
In November, the government announced that Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, North Wales, will host three Rolls-Royce small modular reactors. It said the site – where a Magnox plant is being decommissioned – could potentially host up to eight SMRs.
GBE-N will start activity on the site this year with the aim for Wylfa’s SMRs to be supplying power to the grid from the mid-2030s.
The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. Ninety percent of the SMR – measuring about 16 metres by 4 metres – will be built in factory conditions, limiting activity on-site primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested, modules which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.
Alongside the announcement that SMRs would be built at Wylfa, the government announced that GBE-N had been tasked with identifying suitable sites that could potentially host further large-scale reactor projects beyond the current deployments at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C. GBE-N will report back by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review and beyond. The Energy Secretary has requested this includes sites across the UK, including Scotland.
