NIA Response to Labour’s ‘Major Capital Projects Review’

The Nuclear Industry Association is the trade association and representative body for the civil nuclear industry in the UK. We represent around 270 companies operating across all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Executive Summary

The headline ambition for the nuclear sector is to build up to 24 GW of new nuclear power by 2050. The UK currently has 6 GW of operational nuclear power, of which 5 GW will retire within the next five years. Another 3.2 GW has entered nuclear construction at Hinkley Point C, with 3.2 GW at Sizewell C in the early phases of construction.

• To ensure good cost estimates and timely delivery in major projects such as nuclear projects, the UK will require:
  • Certainty of design of major projects before construction begins
  • Fresh experience in major construction management
  • Efficient supply chain capabilities, particularly in capital-intensive precision manufacturing capabilities
  • A skilled and productive workforce
  • Certainty of competitive, long-term financing for major capital spending
• A programmatic approach for the construction of nuclear power plants is required for the fastest and most cost-effective deployment of up to 24GW of nuclear power to the grid by 2050.
  • By a programmatic approach, we mean setting out what new reactors we will build, where we will build them, who will build them, how we will pay for them, and in what order we will build them. By this approach, we also mean undertaking multiple projects at once rather than a one-by-one approach.

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