| NucNet latest: UK action plan | | Print | |
| Monday, 16 June 2008 | |
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UK business secretary John Hutton has unveiled a government action plan for new nuclear power plants, including the creation of an Office of Nuclear Development and a Nuclear Development Forum that will bring together government and industry to discuss key issues and maintain the momentum towards new units. Mr Hutton told an audience of senior figures from the international nuclear industry at a government-hosted conference in London today that he wants to see a new generation of nuclear power plants built and operating “as quickly as possible”, given the urgency of reducing carbon emissions and combating other energy threats. “The UK government has the ambition and commitment to build and maintain the best market in the world for companies to do business in nuclear power,” Mr Hutton said. He told the conference the UK is a leader in a new global nuclear investment ‘league table’ and looks set to attract the world’s leading energy companies to build its next generation of nuclear power plants. The action plan announced today includes the publication of draft criteria for deciding on the siting of new nuclear power plants. Mr Hutton said the government is also taking measures to meet the expected high levels of demand for trained staff in the industry including work with the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which will next month launch its new ‘Skills & Capability Strategy’. The action plan includes the introduction of measures to improve recruitment and retention of staff at the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), which regulates nuclear safety. This will ensure there are enough inspectors to review the three reactor designs which energy companies have proposed for new units in the UK. The three designs are Areva and EDF’s European Pressurised Water Reactor; GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR); and Westinghouse Electric Company’s AP1000. NII chief inspector Mike Weightman also spoke at the event. He announced inspectors are to begin their detailed assessment of the three designs, a complex process known as the Generic Design Assessment which is due to be completed by 2011. In January 2008, the UK government gave the go-ahead for the possible construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants in the UK. Contact the editor on this report This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Comments (0)
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