Where would you put a nuclear reactor in Telford?
At last nights full council meeting Cllr Bentley put forward a motion to request that Telford & Wrekin Council start identifying suitable sites for an SMR – a Small Modular Reactor. A nuclear power station.
The meeting was a long one, with many motions on very important issues, such as the Local Plan and the Budget. So long, there was an interval.
I had seen the motion proposed by Cllr Bentley and, hands up, I had not worked out what an SMR was. There are lots of abbreviations and acronyms in local government, but after googling SMR during the break, I sat upright.
The fatigue of listening to Councillors, many talking like they are auctioneers to get their points in before their time runs out, lifted away.
Cllr Bentley stood to deliver his Motion, that Telford & Wrekin Council start to identify sites in the Borough that might be suitable for a Small Modular Reactor.
That’s right, a two-football pitch sized, mini nuclear power station.
He went on that they cost between £50m and £300m, and take up little space compared to a solar or wind farm. Indeed, Cllr Bentley suggested they could be sited in an industrial type building.
We could rely on ‘always on’ power, unlike many renewable energy generation systems.
Cllr Bentley also put our minds at rest. We have nothing to fear about a Chernobyl type incident. (I’m sure the people of Chernobyl were told that too – Ed) and having worked on nuclear power stations in the past, he assured us that ‘he still doesn’t glow’.
Of all the Simpsons-esque infrastructure plans that Telford could adopt, I had Monorail above a nuclear reactor.
Not everyone in the chamber shared the enthusiasm, although it was more of a ‘not now’ than a ‘not ever’ from Cllr Healy, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning & Sustainability in the Labour administration.
Following a vote, the motion failed to garner enough support.
Where would you put a Nuclear Reactor in Telford?
Pic: Artists impression of a Rolls-Royce small modular reactor
