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DCD’s October 2026 episode on market models for small modular reactors (SMRs) links those models to a problem UK energy projects already face: delays in grid connection. The episode page establishes that framing and the guest’s identity. It does not establish which market models, cost structures or conclusions the conversation covers, so this article separates what is confirmed from what needs the full recording to verify.
What the episode is
DCD published the episode on 8 October 2026 as part of its DCD Studio series. Tam Pledger interviews Rosa Rotko of Mott MacDonald. The page description says the two discuss “critical grid connection delays impacting UK energy projects,” and the page is tagged Energy, Grid Connection, Mott MacDonald, Nuclear Energy and SMR. The title itself puts the emphasis on market models for SMRs.
Those three signals (the title, the description and the tags) are the only episode-level details the page provides. It contains no statistics, no direct interview quotations and no summary of the models discussed. Anyone who needs to know whether a particular commercial structure is endorsed, rejected or simply described should watch the episode or read a transcript before drawing that conclusion.
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Who the guest is
Mott MacDonald lists Rosa Rotko as Project Director, Energy Transformation, based in the UK. Her role leads the firm’s engagement with large energy users, including data centres. The firm says she has more than 15 years of experience in energy and decarbonisation across strategy, policy, regulation, business development, consulting and professional services.
#1 Best Overall
Her company biography includes this line: “I love working on complex energy related projects that help unlock progress towards decarbonisation. Energy transformation is an exciting area which will affect all organisations over the coming decades.” That is a biography quote, not a remark from the DCD episode.
A related DCD event listing places Rotko in the same role on a panel asking whether SMRs can power data centres. That listing frames the subject around firm low-carbon power, grid constraints, price volatility, sustainability and possible projects in Europe. It describes the event’s agenda, not the episode’s content.
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How SMR market models are tested
Mott MacDonald’s published account of earlier SMR work offers the closest public picture of the firm’s modelling approach. It is not the method used in the DCD episode, but it shows the questions that market models tend to raise.
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The earlier project used economic modelling to examine the future commercial potential of SMR power plants. That kind of model depends on assumptions about capital cost, operating performance and the price the plant can earn, which is why the firm treats its results as conditional.
Rank #3
Engineering and cost modelling of heat extraction
A second strand used engineering and cost modelling to study heat extraction from plant steam cycles. Heat use matters for industrial and data-centre customers, because a plant that can supply heat as well as electricity has a different commercial profile from one that supplies only power.
The conditional conclusion
The firm describes significant uncertainty around SMR costs, performance and the suitability of different designs. Its stated conclusion was that SMRs could contribute to the UK energy system if they meet relevant cost and performance targets. That is a conditional finding, not a forecast that SMRs will be deployed on a given timeline.
Rank #4
Siting questions for data-centre and nuclear co-location
Mott MacDonald’s co-location material lists the considerations that determine whether a nuclear site can serve a data-centre load. These are the factors a market model has to reflect in practice, because each one changes cost, timing or feasibility.
- Population density around the site
- Proximity to end users
- Grid connection
- Cooling
- Transport and logistics
- Environmental sensitivities
- Local workforce
The table below turns these into comparison questions for any real proposal. The firm’s article presents them as siting considerations, not as a ranking of sites or a comparison made in the episode.
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| Siting axis | Question to ask of a proposal | Why it affects the market model |
|---|---|---|
| Grid access and connection timing | When can the site be connected, and how long does that process take? | Delay pushes back revenue and can change which customers are viable. |
| Proximity to demand | How far is the plant from the data centre or other large user? | Distance drives transmission needs, losses and the feasibility of heat or power supply. |
| Cooling | What water or cooling arrangement does the site need, and is it available? | Cooling capacity can limit output and add cost. |
| Population density | How many people live near the site, and what emergency planning follows? | Density shapes permitting and the size of the exclusion area. |
| Transport and logistics | Can heavy components and fuel be moved to the site? | Access affects construction schedules and costs. |
| Environmental sensitivities | Are there protected habitats, water constraints or other sensitivities? | These can extend assessment periods and constrain design. |
| Local workforce | Is there enough skilled labour for construction and operation? | Shortages raise costs and can lengthen build programmes. |
The demand figures in context
Mott MacDonald’s article cites a six-fold increase in UK commercial data-centre energy demand over ten years. The figure is a National Grid forecast as reported by Mott MacDonald. This article has not checked it against the original National Grid publication, so it should be read as Mott MacDonald’s account of that forecast, not as independently verified National Grid data.
The same article states that 523 data centres operate in the UK. The publication date of that count is not stated in the accessible text, so treat it as a point-in-time figure with an unknown date.
How to read the episode
Because the page does not show what the guests argue, these questions help a viewer judge the discussion against the firm’s own published framework:
- Which cost and performance targets does the speaker treat as the threshold for SMRs to contribute, and are they stated as numbers?
- How does the discussion treat grid connection timing: as a cost, a schedule risk, or a reason to choose a different site?
- Does the market model account for heat supply as well as electricity, and for which customer types?
- Which of the seven siting axes does the speaker raise, and which are left out?
Answers to these questions will show whether the episode adds specifics to the general framing on the page or stays at the level of the description.
Source for the episode: DCD (dcd.media), episode published 8 October 2026. Background on the guest and the modelling work: Mott MacDonald’s official biography and project pages.
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