Plans for UK’s first fusion energy plant

FOR years it had been something of an impossible dream, to create a virtually limitless supply of energy with barely any environmental impact.

But now firm plans are being drawn up to build the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant in the UK.

Four sites in England and one in Scotland – at Ardeer, Ayrshire – have been shortlisted to be the home of the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant. It would create thousands of jobs and aim to generate a ‘near-limitless’ source of low-carbon energy, the UK Atomic Energy Authority said.

Fusion is a power source which has been promised for years and never materialised, but is edging closer to reality. It has the potential to provide a near-limitless source of low carbon energy by copying the processes that power the sun and stars where atoms are fused to release energy.

The final decision on the plant known will be expected at the end of next year and should be operational by the 2040s.

It is hoped the project will achieve the sofar elusive goal of generating more electricity than it requires to operate.

The high hopes for fusion rest in its efficiency, as one kilo of fuel will produce four million times more energy than a kilo of oil, coal or gas. But it will not create large quantities of radioactive waste, as is the case with conventional nuclear power.

The new plant is known as The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (Step).

A Tokamak is a doughnut-shaped vessel which contains hydrogen, heated to such extreme temperatures it fuses to produce helium, generating energy, which is used to drive a turbine.

The five shortlisted sites are: Ardeer; Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire; Moorside, Cumbria; Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire; Severn Edge, Gloucestershire.

George Freeman, minister for science, research and innovation, said: ‘Fusion energy has the potential to be a truly revolutionary energy source that can help us reduce our dependence on unreliable fossil fuels.’