In a new report, the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (SITC) said that current efforts are more of a “wish list” than the comprehensive strategy that is required to ensure such capacity is built.

The government’s plan to install 24GW of nuclear capacity is almost double the highest installed capacity the UK has ever achieved. Efforts to meet it could involve new gigawatt-scale nuclear power, small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs), alongside further development of nuclear fusion, the committee said.

But it would require “substantial” progress on technologies, financing, skills, regulation, decommissioning and waste management, it added.

Nuclear industry witnesses who were interviewed for the report called for a clearer strategic plan than currently exists. This would incorporate commitments from a wide range of stakeholders that are designed to go beyond the lifetime of any single government.

This is because nuclear...