54 ENERGY
Steve Marshall Continued from Page 53
The Lancashire stations are among four EDF nuclear operations in the UK given an extension, which the company says means they will continue to support more than 3,000 jobs. It plans to invest a further £1.3bn in them over the next three years.
Steve Marshall, EDF’s project portfolio manager at Heysham, welcomed Keir Starmer’s announcement. He says: “The nuclear sector is in renaissance and it is music to my ears.”
While no announcement has been made regarding future nuclear plants on the site, he says there is hope that it will be chosen for a future SMR project or another opportunity.
He adds that Heysham is well placed to deliver: “The land is there and it is a nuclear licensed site. We’ve got 80-plus years of safely running nuclear power plants.”
Meanwhile, the two plants will continue to provide jobs when they enter the next phase of their life-cycle after they stop generating electricity. Steve says: “These will be projects that require expertise and talent.”
He adds: “In the North West we have the expertise in every part of the supply chain, huge amounts of it.”
He highlights the work taking place at Springfield near Preston to produce the fuel for nuclear power stations, the industry expertise based around Warrington and the decommissioning expertise at Sellafield in Cumbria.
The industry’s links with the region’s universities and colleges, including Blackpool and The Fylde College, which offers a nuclear scientist and engineer degree apprenticeship, is another major plus, he adds.
Steve also welcomes the fact other players are emerging with SMR plans in the region. He says: “Recent events have shown we are quite vulnerable as a nation with regard to our energy supply. We need to become more self-sufficient.
“There are large barriers to entry into nuclear and they need to be overcome, we need others in the industry and it is good to see there is that appetite locally.
“Nuclear has historically been white middled- aged men, diversity is changing that as we modernise. We have a wealth of culture, knowledge and expertise in the area that we can apply to this industry.”
Aside from nuclear there are big plans to develop a large-scale wind farm off the coast of Lancashire with up to 40 generators. Steve Marshall says: “It is another contributor to the energy mix we require.”
CUTTING THROUGH THE RED TAPE
Red tape remains a blocker of growth in the renewable sector, industry leaders in Lancashire have warned.
The government has vowed to act as it looks to kickstart economic growth with Keir Starmer declaring: “If we don’t simplify environmental protections, then we cannot decarbonise our electricity grid and generate cheaper, homegrown energy.
He says: “One of the biggest challenges is regulation. It is not just too much regulation; it is regulation in the wrong area.”
Chris is also critical of what he describes as “a lack of leadership” at government level.
He adds: “Every single government I can remember was going to slash red tape, every single one of them without fail adds to it, or
We need a wholesale change in attitude, a cultural change in government. I don’t think
energy should be politicised but it always will be, it is a massive hot potato
“If we don’t curb regulator overreach, then we won’t unlock the investment needed for a more prosperous future.”
Chris Bingham is chief executive of managed service consultancy Greenarc. Based in Padiham it works to facilitate businesses in their transition to clean energy.
they create another regulator and every time you create a regulator you add regulations; it is what regulators do.
“We need a wholesale change in attitude, a cultural change in government. I don’t think energy should be politicised but it always will be, it is a massive hot potato.”
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