Billionaire to invest £35bn in small modular nuclear reactors rollout across UK
Consortium led by Michał Sołowow planning enough SMRs to power equivalent of 8m homes for more than 60 years
Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondentThu 2 Jul 2026 10.11 BSTShare
A consortium led by the billionaire industrialist Michał Sołowow has announced plans to build 14 small modular nuclear reactors on three sites across the UK, including the location of a former nuclear plant in Gloucestershire.
The Polish entrepreneur and rally driver plans to use £35bn of private capital to roll out enough small modular reactors (SMRs) to power the equivalent of 8m UK homes for more than 60 years, or even power datacentre investments alongside Google.
Sołowow’s nuclear development company, SGE, plans to make the “significant investment” of between £2.2bn to £2.5bn in each 300 megawatt reactor alongside a string of industrial partners including the US manufacturer GE Vernova and Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi, which are responsible for the design.
The consortium, known as SGE SMR, hopes to secure three sites for the boiling water reactors (BWRs) by this time next year as well as a government support contract which would guarantee a “competitive” price for its electricity once it starts generating in 2034.
It has not disclosed which sites it hopes to use for the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 design, or which energy company would be the operator. However, the Guardian understands the consortium has submitted an application to use the Oldbury site in south Gloucestershire which was earmarked earlier this year for the development of SMRs under the government’s advanced nuclear framework.
Miliband reveals plans that could mean nuclear power plants built near homes
This article is more than 4 months old
Changes to regulation to speed up development could also make it easier to build on sensitive nature sites
Mark Sweney and Helena HortonFri 13 Mar 2026 13.03 GMTShare
Ed Miliband has unveiled plans that could make it easier to build nuclear power plants closer to homes and on sensitive nature sites, as he attempts to speed up the development of energy infrastructure.
The energy secretary set out changes to nuclear regulation, to be carried out this year, which would mean a “win-win for building critical infrastructure while protecting nature and the environment”.
However, ministers were quickly accused of “irresponsible deregulation” and putting nature at risk.
The shake-up means the government will implement the recommendations of a review completed last year by the nuclear regulatory taskforce review, which was led by the former Office of Fair Trading boss John Fingleton.
It said an overhaul of the “overly complex” and “bureaucratic” system which “favoured process over safe outcomes” was needed.
Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “As the current Middle East conflict shows, we need to go further and faster to build the clean energy we need to get off volatile fossil fuel markets and deliver energy security for our country.
“A crucial part of this is ensuring that we speed up the building of infrastructure in a way that reduces costs as well as delivering better outcomes for nature.”
The nuclear regulatory taskforce was set up by Keir Starmer in February after the government promised to rip up “archaic rules” and slash regulations to “get Britain building”.
Starmer accepted the recommendations in December, saying he wanted to use the approach to inform the government’s wider industrial strategy.
The Fingleton review said: “Several changes are required to remove legislative and policy bottlenecks and accelerate project delivery.
“Outdated policies that restrict site selection must be reformed, specifically by revising the semi-urban population density criteria and default outline planning zones.” The criteria aims to avoid siting nuclear plants near areas with large local populations.
In June, Miliband announced a £14.2bn programme to build a new nuclear power station, including a multibillion-pound investment at Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast, and a drive to build small modular reactors (SMRs).
On Friday, Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, published the regulatory justification for Rolls-Royce’s plan to become the first company to try to build SMRs in the UK.
The government said the introduction of the regulatory reforms meant it was likely to be the last time that this type of mini-nuclear power plant needed to go through such a lengthy process.
Datacenters focus:
The UK government has announced significant planning reforms to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants, particularly Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). These changes have implications for the data centre industry, where demand for reliable, inexpensive, abundant power has become a key issue for owners and operators.Changing Government policies are designed to provide greater flexibility in site selection, reduce bureaucratic delays, and support the country’s transition to a more sustainable energy mix.
SMRs and AMRs are positioned as the future of nuclear power due to their reduced construction time and adaptability compared to traditional, large-scale reactors. The government emphasised these smaller reactors can be deployed in a broader range of locations, including closer to high-demand users such as data centres.
A statement from the Government noted previous policies had restricted technology investment, and that the reformed policies would support advancement, as well as jobs and cheap energy supply.
“Investors want to get on and build reliable, cheap nuclear power, which will in turn support critical modern infrastructure, such as supercomputers to power the UK’s ambitions – but they have been held back,” said the Government.
The UK Government added the plans announced will shake up the planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear across the country, delivering jobs, cheaper bills in the long term, and more money in people’s back pockets.
Greater Flexibility in Site Selection
The National Policy Statement for Nuclear Energy Generation allows developers to identify their preferred sites for nuclear projects, rather than limiting them to pre-approved locations. This will help to prevent projects from being hindered by outdated site restrictions and allow data centre operators to explore colocation with nuclear facilities for direct energy supply.
The new policy also removes arbitrary expiry deadlines, providing investors and developers with greater certainty and flexibility, which encourages long-term planning and investment.
Changing these rules is expected to benefit data centres by promoting reliable and abundant energy to power both traditional and AI data centres. This can help to reduce the risk of outages and downtime, which is critical given the increasing reliance on digital infrastructure. SMRs and AMRs can help to alleviate the pressure that data centres place on local energy grids while reducing transmission fees and operational costs.
Nuclear power is also a low-carbon energy source, aligning with technology company commitments to sustainability and reduced environmental impact.
https://www.techerati.com/news-hub/uk-nuclear-power-reforms-implications-for-data-centres/
borderslynn 