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Updated September 26th, 2021 at 17:37 IST

UK fuel crisis: Boris Johnson in favour of building a fleet of mini nuclear reactors

PM Boris Johnson favours the creation of a new generation of nuclear reactors by 2050, citing fuel panic caused by a shortage of HGV drivers in the country.

Reported by: Rohit Ranjan
UK
Image: AP | Image:self
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The situation with petrol supplies is worsening in some parts of the UK and the government is considering easing visa requirements in order to attract at least 5,000 foreign truckers to assist alleviating the country's lorry driver shortage. The Sunday Times recently reported that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson favours the creation of a new generation of nuclear reactors by 2050, citing fuel panic caused by a shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers in the country.

Cabinet ministers have approved the focus toward nuclear power, which Johnson sees as critical to the government's objective of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to sanction money for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited to build a fleet of tiny nuclear reactors in the UK, as per a report by Sputnik.

"Nuclear power plants should play a larger role in Britain's energy strategy"

According to reports, Rolls-Royce believes that by 2050, the proposal to build at least 16 nuclear power reactors in the Midlands, the North of England, and elsewhere will have created an employment opportunity of 40,000. According to the Sunday Times, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak believes nuclear power plants should play a larger role in Britain's energy strategy in the near future.

Hundreds of cars blocked highways throughout the UK when the oil and gas firm BP announced that it had shuttered scores of its petrol stations owing to a shortage of lorry drivers. According to the Road Haulage Association of the United Kingdom, the country is short of roughly 100,000 HGV drivers who are licenced to operate trucks. The government would fix the issue, which is being caused by delays in training and testing owing to the coronavirus pandemic, according to British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. 

PM's ten-point plan will generate, support and safeguard green employment

PM Johnson announced the government's strategy for a green industrial revolution in the UK in mid-November 2020, emphasising that his ten-point plan will generate, support and safeguard hundreds of thousands of green employment while making progress towards net-zero by 2050. According to Sputnik, Johnson argued that the UK's green revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales.

Image: AP

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Published September 26th, 2021 at 17:37 IST

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