All you need to know about the billion-pound nuclear fusion plant bid for Ayrshire

dailyrecord.co.uk:

North Ayrshire Council is vying to win a billion-pound nuclear fusion contract on the Ardeer peninsulaSpherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) aims to design and construct a prototype fusion energy plant capable of providing an environmentally-friendly source of electricity.And if selected over the four other English, the Ardeer site will create thousands of skilled, and internship jobs for the area.If the only Scottish site in contention is chosen, the plan and building process could span over 18 years.How much will it cost?"It's likely to be in the billions rather than the hundreds of millions," said The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) representative Leon Flexman."The £222 million from the UK is for the first phase which will run until 2024 and includes selecting a site concept design and all of that initial activity.

There is a considerably higher amount of money needed."How many jobs will be created?Catriona McAuley, head of service, economic development and regeneration for North Ayrshire Council, is confident if the Ardeer site was successful the job creation could reach up to 4,500 from the initial investment.She said: "The estimates are 3,500 jobs are required for the constructions period and 1000 jobs when the site is operational, that is based on the initial £222m UK investment."Up to five per cent will be at an internship level and similarly for graduate roles."That is based on the initial £222m investment from the UK Government but we feel there is significant opportunities to lever in additional public and private sector investments on the back of that."This is about the development of a global market in fusion energy and for North Ayrshire to be at the heart of that is really exciting for the west