Virtual forums begin today for residents and stakeholders from five areas shortlisted as potential sites for a prototype fusion power plant.
The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) is a UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) programme seeking to pave the way for the development of commercial power plants.
Five potential regions have been shortlisted and the ccommunity forum events will take place as follows:
• Ardeer, North Ayrshire (Jan 26, 6-8pm)
• Moorside, Cumbria (Jan 31, 6-8pm)
• Goole, East Yorkshire (Feb 2, 6-8pm)
• West Burton, Nottinghamshire (Feb 8, 6-8pm)
• Severn Edge (Oldbury and Berkeley), Gloucestershire (Feb 10, 6-8pm)
The events will bring together UKAEA engineers and scientists involved in the first-of-a-kind project and local stakeholders. Each community forum is open to all and will include a presentation on the programme, details on the proposals and an open forum for questions and discussion.
The STEP site will be selected by the Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and a final decision on the successful site is expected around the end of 2022. UKAEA will make recommendations based on a set of criteria, including support from the local community and the potential for socio-economic benefits in that locality. The UKAEA expecst to make recommendations to the secretary of state after assessing the socio-economic, commercial and technical conditions associated with each site. This stage will be concluded in spring 2022.
Tristram Denton, Head of Commercial and Programme Development for STEP, said: “STEP is not just of strategic importance to UKAEA, but to the national and global efforts to harness fusion technology in the fight against climate change. While it’s still early days, we anticipate that the host region will become a global hub for a wide range of technological and scientific expertise, leading to massive economic opportunities.

Sign up for the virtual meetings on the siting website here