The UK should consider 8 GW of new build to restore nuclear generation to current levels by 2035 following the retirement of existing reactors in the 2020s, the government’s climate change committee says in a report.

Despite retirements of existing nuclear plants in the 2020s, one scenario in the report sees new nuclear projects restore generation with 10 GW of total nuclear capacity by 2035, 8 GW of which would come from new-build. Total net installed capacity in the UK today is 8.9 GW.

The Sixth Carbon Budget report says the country’s planned transition to a near net zero-emission electricity system should have several phases, with low-cost renewables deployed at scale in the 2020s, while developing the markets for gas CCS and hydrogen, and adding some new build nuclear.