West Burton in Nottinghamshire has been selected as the future home for the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) prototype fusion energy plant.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA’s) plant will build on the UK’s fusion centre at Culham in Oxfordshire, which houses the Joint European Torus (JET) facility, due for closure next year.
The West Burton A site houses a coal-fired generating station owned by Uniper, which was due to close last month. EDF Energy has agreed to keep the plant in operation until April 2023 to reduce the pressure on gas supplies, which could put electricity supply at risk.
The adjacent West Burton B site houses a CCGT owned by EDF Energy, which recently submitted a planning application for a 500MW battery, replacing earlier permission granted for an open cycle gas turbine.