UK nuclear power programme
Posted: 5th September 2024
Before the end of the year, Ed Miliband is expected to announce the next phase of Britain’s nuclear power revival. The energy secretary has inherited decisions on two major programmes that could help bring forward a new nuclear age in the UK — Sizewell C in Suffolk and a fleet of mini nuclear plants around Britain. In its election manifesto, Labour lent its support to nuclear as playing an important role in the shift towards clean power and improving energy security. Sceptics of ambitions to build out Britain’s nuclear industry point towards the delays and budgeting difficulties that have beset Hinkley Point C as a bad omen for expanding the UK industry. The developers have called out the 7,000 design changes it was forced to make to its reactors by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to adapt the reactors to UK safety standards, increasing the amount of concrete and steel needed and pushing up costs. The project has also been caught up in wrangling with the Environment Agency and it is still in dispute over how to best deter fish from swimming near the site and getting sucked up into its cooling systems. There is believed to be a £5 billion funding gap, but CGN’s liability for the project is capped at £6 billion, which leaves the French state on the hook. A fixed, albeit inflation-linked, subsidy of £92.50 per megawatt-hour (in 2012 prices) was agreed when Hinkley was signed off, so any increase in costs falls on shareholders, rather than directly on bill payers. A final investment decision on [Sizewell C] had been expected by the summer. The hope now is that the project might get the green light before the end of the year, but there is speculation that it may slip into next year. The government is expected to launch a new generation of mini nuclear power plants across the country. The selection process is being run by Great British Nuclear, an arm’s-length body set up under the previous government to drive nuclear deployment. Five ventures, including Rolls-Royce and GE-Hitachi, a joint venture between GE Vernova, the American energy equipment manufacturer, and Hitachi, the Japanese conglomerate, have submitted bids for £20 billion in taxpayer funding. The plan is to whittle down the list to three or four designs by the end of this month, with the winning bids chosen before the end of the year. It is hoped that the chosen technology providers will take a final investment decision by 2029. The first small modular reactor is not expected to be generating electricity before 2035, not in time to contribute towards Labour’s 2030 net zero goals. Miliband has said the new government will “strive” to keep to the timetable previously set out. When the winning mini nuclear plant designs are chosen, they will be assigned an operating site by Great British Nuclear. There are eight sites currently approved for nuclear development in the UK, including Wylfa in Anglesey, the Sellafield site in Cumbria and Heysham in Lancashire. A deal in March with Hitachi brought two sites — Wylfa and Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire — back under government ownership. Moorside, which is adjacent to the Sellafield facility is also state-owned, which makes all three likely potential sites for the first small modular reactors (SMRs). Rolls-Royce, which is considered a frontrunner in the selection process, has previously said it has identified four potential parcels of land, including Oldbury and Moorside, as its preferred locations. However, it is envisioned that for small modular reactors to fully realise the benefits of scale, development on more new sites will be needed. Looser planning rules are expected to allow these reactors almost anywhere outside built-up areas.