| Talking Points | | Print | |
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As part of its contribution to the energy debate the NIA compiled a set of Talking Points about nuclear energy. Nuclear power is a proven form of electricity generation worldwide Nuclear supplies 16% of the world’s electricity. There are currently over 436 commercial nuclear reactors operating in 30 countries, with a further 29 under construction. Nuclear energy currently supplies around 18% of the UK’s electricity Nuclear energy has supplied up to a third of the country’s electricity safely and reliably since 1956. The UK industry, with 19 reactors on 10 sites, currently supplies a fifth of the country’s electricity. The world has changed dramatically over the last few years The importance of climate change to policy thinking has increased. Security of supply concerns have grown and energy prices across the board have risen sharply, pushed up by global oil and gas prices. In the UK, CO2 emissions continue to rise, progress on energy efficiency and renewables uptake has been disappointing. North Sea oil and gas resources have depleted faster than expected. The UK needs substantial investment in generating capacity over the next 20 years Demand from consumers will continue to grow. Many coal-fired stations will not meet emissions legislation and will have to close. Nine of our ten nuclear power stations are due to close over the next 20 years. Investment is therefore needed to replace over 30% of today’s generating capacity. The UK has set environmental targets to reduce carbon emissions, which will necessitate using less fossil fuel. Renewable sources of electricity, currently supplying 3% of the UK’s electricity, can not grow fast enough to replace the electricity shortfall on their own, nor can they independently ensure stability. A balanced energy mix will help to ensure security of energy supply in the UK A balanced energy mix will reduce the UK’s dependency on imported fuels, potentially from politically unstable regions. Renewable sources are indigenous, and nuclear can provide a large scale, reliable sources of baseload electricity. Together with coal, gas and oil from diverse sources, including the UK’s own production, they are the best protection against risk of supply interruptions and excessive costs of raw fuel which have an impact on UK competitiveness. Nuclear is a low-carbon source of energy, making it a valuable contributor in the battle against climate change Nuclear power generation produces negligible CO2, a by-product of fossil fuel generation which is the main cause of global warming. Independent studies have shown that the full lifecycle carbon emissions (which include construction, uranium mining, milling and enrichment, fuel fabrication as well as decommissioning) are a fraction of those for fossil fuels and of the same order as those of renewables such as wind turbines. In the UK, the 80% of our low-carbon electricity comes from nuclear. The power generated by existing power stations avoids the emissions of 50 million tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent of taking half of Britain’s cars off the roads. The UK’s civil nuclear programme has an outstanding safety record All facilities are licensed by the industry regulator the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, part of the Health and Safety Executive. Modern reactors have reliable advanced safety systems – and any imbalance in the normal system operation will lead to automatic shutdown. Modern nuclear power stations are amongst the most robust, secure structures in the world Power stations are extremely robust structures and have a multi-layered defence against possible terrorist attacks. The Government’s Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is responsible for approving security arrangements within the industry and enforcing compliance. Nuclear energy is an economically competitive form of power generation Unlike for fossil fuel generation, fuel costs represent a small fraction of the total operating costs for nuclear power. As a result, generation costs are stable and predictable. A range of independent studies (Royal Academy of Engineering, OECD), show full nuclear lifecycle costs, including decommissioning and waste management, to be competitive with other sources. The UK has managed its radioactive waste safely for over half a century All UK wastes are securely contained and an ever-increasing proportion is being solidified to make it suitable for long-term management. Other countries have already demonstrated that safe and secure long-term management and permanent disposal of nuclear wastes is technically feasible. Following successful Government and public consultation, the process for constructing deep geological radioactive waste disposal sites is under way in countries such as Finland and Sweden. The Government has also decided use deep geological disposal for the UK’s higher level wastes following the report of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) in 2006. The report firmly recommended that the UK’s high and intermediate level waste should be stored in a secure deep geological repository. The NDA will now take the lead in establishing a site for the repository. The industry has the technical capability to continue to safely manage waste. It is not a technical issue as some pressure groups would suggest. The point about nuclear waste is that it is safely contained and is not out in the atmosphere causing harm to our environment unlike the carbon dioxide from fossil fuel stations. If a fleet of new plants were commissioned to replace the current ones, they would only add around 10% to the volume of existing waste over their 60-year lifespan. World class, competitive industry of highly skilled professionals The civil nuclear industry employs around 40,000 highly skilled people throughout the UK, with a total of over 80,000 jobs being directly or indirectly linked with the industry. Companies in the UK nuclear industry have the capability of providing more than 80% of new nuclear power station projects in the UK. The industry has the experience to operate and maintain them throughout their full lifecycle. Modern reactor designs are more efficient New reactor designs are being licensed and built in other countries, such as Finland, France, China and Korea. Modern designs are smaller, quicker and cheaper to build. They utilise the latest approaches on safety and produce far less waste than older designs. Nuclear fuel supplies are assured Accessible and affordable uranium ore from known reserves in politically stable countries can be assured for the full lifetime of a fleet of new UK reactors. The required amount of fuel is small in volume and is easily stored, indeed it would be technically possible to store all the fuel for the lifetime of a nuclear reactor on site if necessary. A rapid expansion of nuclear power on a worldwide scale would not overturn this position. New nuclear build in the UK is achievable Support for nuclear energy has increased. For example, 65% of the British public think that nuclear power should form part of a balanced energy mix for the future (MORI, December 2007). There are challenges to achieving this, but if government, regulators and industry work together then these can be overcome. The workforce and supply chain companies, in the UK and world-wide, are capable of delivering a fleet of new reactors. |
