Nottinghamshire County Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement that Nottinghamshire will be the site of the UK’s first fusion energy plant as ‘once-in-a lifetime news’.
Yesterday the Government announced that the West Burton power station site in Nottinghamshire has been selected as the home for ‘STEP’ (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant.
The plan is for the plant to be up and running by 2040.
Cllr Ben Bradley MP, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, welcomed the ‘amazing, once-in-a lifetime news’.
‘This will bring incredible benefits to the county and wider region, including millions, if not billions worth of investment, putting it at the heart of the government’s plans to revolutionise the way we generate energy in the UK,’ he said.
‘The site will be the international hub for carbon-neutral, fusion development, attracting the brightest minds locally and from across the world, boosting skills, training, and creating thousands of highly skilled jobs.
‘We are an ambitious county and have a proud heritage of producing energy which helped power the industrial revolution, but now we will be at the heart of the UK green energy revolution too.’
Cllr Keith Girling, chairman of the county council’s Economic Development and Asset Management Committee, added: ‘We are absolutely delighted. This is a fantastic achievement which will bring massive growth and investment, particularly to the north of the county.
‘We can look forward to thousands of new skilled jobs and lucrative opportunities for the local supply chain to help construct the plant.
‘As global energy demand continues to grow, this technology is expected to play a crucial role in helping to achieve net zero emissions - in a safe and sustainable way - during the second half of this century.
‘It’s incredible to think that Nottinghamshire will be at the heart of this, which is real boost to local pride.’
