Bradwell B would become Essex’s biggest contribution to climate action

With COP26 underway, the Bradwell B project team is highlighting how the proposed new nuclear power station could become the county’s single biggest climate positive act.

The recent Net Zero Strategy from the UK Government, endorsed both large and small nuclear projects as critical to decarbonising electricity generation by 2035. Bradwell B is ideally placed to play a major part in achieving this objective. Bradwell B will produce 2.2GW of electricity, enough to power four million homes for at least 60 years.

Alan Raymant Bradwell B’s Chief Executive said: “Bradwell B builds on a history of nuclear in Essex and provides the county with an opportunity to make a huge impact on the UK’s journey to net zero. Our power station will deliver significant volumes of clean, reliable energy. On top of this the project will also create many thousands of new skilled jobs and bring millions of pounds of investment into the local and regional economies.”

In the UK, the growth in electric vehicles, and the need to move away from using natural gas for heating, means electricity demand will double by 2050. The recent gas price crisis has also underscored the risks of relying on fossil fuels. At the same time, coal-fired power stations and the existing nuclear power stations are retiring which means the UK needs new, low carbon generating capacity.

Mr Raymant said: “Net zero needs all low-carbon electricity generation options to be on the table. Nuclear generation is uniquely placed to work alongside other low carbon electricity sources, as the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. Nuclear energy is critical to the decarbonisation of energy generation and at Bradwell B we continue to work diligently to proceed with the project to help support this ambition.”

Bradwell B remains in the early stages of development, having concluded its first round of public consultation on its proposals in 2020.  This year the Bradwell B project has moved forward with its engineering feasibility assessments. Separately the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for the UK HPR1000, the reactor technology proposed for Bradwell B, is on track for completion in early 2022. This is an important step in being able to build the reactor at Bradwell B, should all necessary consents and permissions be received.

Further information about Bradwell B, including contact details, can be found at www.bradwellb.co.uk.