North Ayrshire pupils back fusion power proposal

Pupils from a North Ayrshire primary school are backing plans to bring a pioneering fusion energy plant to a former industrial site in Ardeer. Children from P6 at Ardeer Primary School have produced a series of drawings of how the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) plant might look if the bid to bring it to their neighbourhood is successful. The drawings will form part of a presentation from the bid's backers to representatives of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) during their final site visit to Ardeer on Tuesday 25 January. Early last year, UKAEA solicited bids from around Britain to find a suitable site to base STEP. The Ardeer bid, produced by a consortium called Fusion Forward (Ardeer) led by the University of Glasgow, North Ayrshire Council, and landowners NPL Group, is one of the five proposals under consideration. It is the only Scottish site still in contention. The drawings illustrate some of the potential benefits of STEP for the region.