New UK nuclear rules pave way for US reactor developers

Great Britain is overhauling nuclear regulation as U.S. developers push to expand projects in the UK. Britain forecasts electricity demand could rise 40% by 2035, while the government targets quadrupling nuclear output to 24 GW by 2050. To meet that timeline, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales plan to cut reactor design approval times from about three or four years to around two. The UK also wants to streamline planning and environmental approvals. Reforms may help firms such as Holtec, TerraPower, Westinghouse and X-energy pursue UK small modular reactor opportunities, with Holtec’s SMR-300 using a U.S. Palisades reference design.