Insider Brief
- Last Energy has officially entered the UK’s nuclear site licensing process for its planned deployment of four 20 MWe microreactors in South Wales.
- The UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) confirmed the company’s entry into the process effective January 1, 2025, following seven months of early engagement, positioning the UK for its first commercial nuclear microreactor.
- The announcement comes after recent UK policy reforms to accelerate nuclear deployment and follows EXIM’s $103.7 million LOI to finance Last Energy’s first microreactor, with a targeted operational date in 2027.
PRESS RELEASE – Last Energy, a Washington, D.C.-based micro-nuclear technology developer, announced confirmation from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the United Kingdom’s nuclear regulator, that it has formally entered the nuclear site licensing (NSL) process for its plans to develop four 20 MWe microreactors in South Wales.
ONR’s notice, effective 1 January, 2025, follows seven months of early engagement with Last Energy and is a critical accelerator for the company’s deployment progress of the project, Prosiect Egni Glan Llynfi, in the UK. Last Energy’s entry into licensing also underscores the viability of privately-financed projects, and puts the UK on a near-term path toward its first ever commercial nuclear microreactor. In December 2024, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) issued Last Energy a $103.7 million (USD) LOI confirming the Bank’s willingness to finance end-to-end delivery of the company’s first microreactor in South Wales.
“We are pleased to officially enter site licensing with ONR, as we continue to make tangible progress toward the delivery of our first microreactor in Wales,” said Michael Jenner, CEO of Last Energy UK, a subsidiary of Last Energy. “This is another critical milestone necessary to unlock nuclear power at scale in the UK, which will help meet growing energy demand and alleviate grid restraints. We appreciate ONR’s efforts during early engagement, which has allowed us to accelerate through the process swiftly. We also very much welcome that ONR has applied proportionality during their engagement with us, as this is a critical enabler for realising the benefits of SMRs.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a series of landmark policy reforms introduced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 6 February to streamline nuclear planning and accelerate deployment in the UK. Among the changes being made, micro-nuclear plants will now be accounted for in the planning process and siting eligibility will be dramatically widened to make deployment possible “anywhere across England and Wales.” Last Energy welcomes these reforms, and looks forward to working with His Majesty’s Government to deliver clean baseload power to data centers and industrial customers throughout the country.
Last Energy’s South Wales project now becomes the first new site for a commercial nuclear power reactor to enter licensing since the Torness Nuclear Power Station in Scotland in 1978. All British deployments since then have been on, or adjacent to, sites with existing or former nuclear plants. Last Energy is proud to pioneer nuclear development where it is needed, not only where it has historically been, and take a leading role in advancing the UK’s goals for greater siting flexibility.
In October 2024, Last Energy announced plans to deploy four microreactors in South Wales at a vacant site that housed the coal-fired Llynfi Power Station from 1951 to 1977. The company obtained site control that month, followed by EXIM’s $103.7 million (USD) LOI to cover end-to-end delivery for its first installation, pending final commitment. In January 2025, Last Energy accepted a grid connection offer from National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) for 22 MW of export capacity. Last Energy aims to deliver its first microreactor in Wales in 2027, pending the licensing, permitting, and planning processes.
