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<p>The Government is committed to ensuring the UK has a secure and resilient energy
system while meeting our climate change obligations and keeping bills as low as possible.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and shale gas have the potential to play a part in achieving
this.</p><p>The Government has committed to investing at least £250 million over the
next five years in nuclear research and development, which will include support for
SMRs. In March 2016, the Government launched the first phase of a competition to identify
the best value SMR for the UK, as well as allocating up to £30m over the next 5 years
for an SMR-enabling advanced manufacturing programme to develop skills capacity.</p><p>The
Government supports the exploration of our shale gas resources in a safe and sustainable
way. The shale gas resources beneath Britain have the potential to bolster our energy
security and lead to jobs and economic growth. UK geology is promising but we make
no assumptions about production levels. We need exploration to determine the potential.</p><p>The
Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally
sound.</p>
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