Leading consulting firms appointed by Great British Energy – Nuclear on key SMR project.
WSP has been appointed alongside Mott MacDonald, by Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) to provide specialist environmental services and permitting support for the small modular reactor (SMR) programme at Wylfa, helping accelerate Britain’s transition to reliable, low-carbon energy.
Together, the five-year appointments are valued at up to £25m across the programme. Under the new appointments, WSP and Mott MacDonald will bring multidisciplinary expertise in environmental assessment, regulatory compliance, and permitting pathways, enabling timely, evidence-based decisions and robust approvals for this nationally significant nuclear project.
WSP will deliver the work in partnership with Mott MacDonald as part of a collaborative joint approach that draws on deep regulatory and infrastructure experience across both organisations. This includes WSP’s strong track record supporting UK nuclear new build projects over the past 15 years, reflecting its experience in environmental, permitting and major permissions advisory services for complex nuclear programmes.
Building on this platform, WSP and Mott MacDonald are bringing together a highly skilled team of environmental, planning and consenting specialists to help GBE-N confidently navigate the major permissions landscape at Wylfa, ensuring the programme benefits from proven expertise, seamless regulatory engagement and high quality delivery.
Stuart McLaren, head of nuclear and energy sector director at WSP, commented: “We’re proud to support Great British Energy – Nuclear in strengthening the UK’s energy security and accelerating decarbonisation. Moving from first-of-a-kind to fleet at pace, without compromising safety, quality or environmental standards, is critical to success. Our role is to help ensure the programme is consentable and constructable, enabling timely, well-evidenced permissions that de-risk the critical path and provide delivery certainty as the programme matures, helping GBE-N turn ambition into delivery.”
Lucy Morton, environment, nature and consents development director at Mott MacDonald, said: “We are delighted to continue supporting GBE-N, building on the environmental services we’ve been providing and bringing our deep expertise in navigating complex regulatory landscapes and delivering integrated, end-to-end environmental solutions to major infrastructure programmes. By combining our significant technical excellence with a collaborative approach, we’ll help GBE-N secure the required consents and set a benchmark for responsible, low-carbon energy development, whilst ensuring that environmental considerations are embedded from concept through delivery.”
Kenny Douglas, DevCo development director at Great British Energy – Nuclear, said: “Ensuring that our programme progresses on a strong environmental and regulatory foundation is critical to delivering the UK’s first fleet of SMRs. The support of WSP and Mott MacDonald brings the depth of expertise needed to navigate a complex permissions landscape with confidence, pace and rigour.”
This appointment builds on WSP’s existing work with GBE-N, including strategic advisory support for its small modular reactor (SMR) programme. It reinforces WSP’s commitment to contributing to the UK’s next generation of low carbon energy infrastructure and applies the firm’s established nuclear environmental and permissions expertise in support of the GBE-N mission. It also leverages Mott MacDonald’s deep sector expertise and ability to apply insights from previous and current projects with GBE-N, including at Oldbury around the siting of SMRs.
