Island Unlikely to go Nuclear

It is unlikely that the island will be receiving our own small reactors to power electricity.

Through the interconnector, the island already receives some power from nuclear energy based in the UK.

John Wannenburgh (Douglas North) asked the DEFA Minister what evaluation has been undertaken of the cost and suitability of establishing mini-nuclear energy farms in the island?

In her reply, Clare Barber said that there has been ‘high level evaluation undertaken regarding the cost and suitability of establishing mini-nuclear energy farms’ and that they ‘ will be included as part of a portfolio of technologies for future assessment as the Government refines its view of the technology roadmap to net zero’.

However, Mrs Barber added: ‘The Future Energy Scenarios1 were produced in order to investigate a range of potential pathways to a net zero power system on the Isle of Man. During the analysis that underpinned these scenarios, SMRs were considered for inclusion. However, they were rejected on the grounds that, at the time of writing, “the technology is still immature and not proven to be deployable at commercial scale”.

‘Whilst this position, fundamentally, remains the case, scientific and commercial developments have been occurring in the intervening years and a number of jurisdictions see SMRs as playing an important role in the transformation of their power systems. This is particularly the case in the UK, where a significant amount of Government innovation funding has been directed in support of their eventual deployment.’

Mrs Barber said that while the Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could have some benefits, there are also inherent risks and the costs ‘remain uncertain’.

She added: ‘It is worth noting also that a number of recent large scale nuclear projects have been beset by cost and time overruns.’

Commenting on the answer on Twitter, DHSC Minister Lawrie Hooper said that the projected price of Rolls Royce’s SMRs, being £2bn, was ‘probably a little out of our price range’.

The gov recently announced its plans to generate 75% of the island’s electricity from renewable sources by 2026, with Manx Utilities getting approval from the Council of Ministers for its plans to begin construction projects which will see up to 30 megawatts of electricity produced from onshore wind and solar energy over the next three years.

£2 billion is probably a little out of our price range….

— Lawrie Hooper MHK (@LawrieHooper) April 27, 2023