NEW BUILD | UK REVIVAL
Demographics around a nuclear site The government consultation on a new National Planning Statement on nuclear opens the possibility that current restrictions on siting based on local demographics may be relaxed in future. What are those restrictions? The current approach is set out by the Health and Safety
Executive. It considers the population in the vicinity of an installation which is compared with standard reference population distributions. A Generic Site Population Factor (SPF)11 is calculated based on the maximum of the actual weighted population density around the site divided by the reference weighted population density. The absolute value of the Generic SPF provides a simple indication of the relative risks associated with different sites, based on an assessment of 30 degree sectors, and also the total population all around the site. In both cases, the cumulative weighted populations are considered for each radial distance band out to 30 km. Sector rotations of 5 degree intervals ie 72 distinct sectors, is used to identify the most densely populated 30 degree sector. On the basis of HSE’s advice the Government has decided that if a SPF for any location proposed new site exceeds the
semi-urban demographic siting criteria previously used for advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), then the local population density is too high to permit the siting of a nuclear power station at that location. The generic SPF does not take into account any features of the design of any particular type of station, but simply gives a measure of the population density in the vicinity. The measures also limit population growth around nuclear stations in operation. The Health and safety Executive, through the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, administers the Government’s policy on the control of population around existing licensed nuclear sites. Planning Authorities take this advice into account in considering whether or not to approve planning applications. Once a new power station receives planning consent, and a nuclear site licence, arrangements will be put in place with local planning authorities and nuclear site licensees that place constraints on development around nuclear sites to control residential, industrial and commercial developments. The aim is to preserve the general characteristics of the area around the nuclear site throughout its lifecycle, and to ensure that the basis on which the site is licensed is not undermined. ■
– particularly as AMTs can supply waste heat at 700°C,
compared with 300°C waste heat from LWRs. That would enable it to decarbonise specific industries, it says. On hydrogen, the consultation says it “is a critical part of
Below: Nuclear is a central pillar of the UK’s future energy mix, with ambitions to deliver up to 24 GW of capacity by 2050
the UK’s strategy”. It adds, “There are multiple low-carbon hydrogen production methods which could utilise heat and/or electricity from nuclear. The higher temperature outputs of some AMRs relative to traditional nuclear could unlock more efficient production routes for hydrogen, with the potential for associated cost savings from these efficiency gains.” It notes hydrogen’s importance as a feedstock for chemicals, including synthetic transport fuels, and for fertilisers, which require both hydrogen and high temperature heat input (350 – 500°C for ammonia production via the Haber-Bosch process). It says, “ANTs could therefore be an energy source for large-scale production of these chemicals”. The consultation also notes the possibility of very small-
scale reactors that aim to replicate containerised diesel generators and can be transported by lorries to where they are needed and views on the uses of nuclear energy for merchant maritime propulsion.
However, at this point government “is not minded to support ANT technologies as a means of treating radioactive waste, spent fuel and nuclear materials”. The consultation is looking for new build financial
structures that can alleviate nuclear’s high capital cost and high construction risk, reducing the cost of private finance by sharing risk between investors and consumers. It retains its existing nuclear contract for difference (CFD) model and nuclear regulated asset base (RAB) model as the most likely options. It says, “The lower absolute cost of SMRs and AMRs
means it may be possible for a developer to raise the necessary capital to finance a private nuclear project. This may take the form of a major user of heat and/or power building and operating a nuclear plant, but we think it is more likely that there will be a separation between the owner/operator of the plant and the consumer of the heat or power it generates. In either case, risk will largely sit with the investors.” The government encourages investors with the appetite to take on investment risk, but says “there are certain financial risks that the private sector cannot fully mitigate,” such as nuclear insolvency. The government also thinks it unlikely that private
contracts between potential customers and nuclear developers would be a low-cost model, because they cannot provide the same level of financial security as a revenue support mechanism backed by government. It says a private offtake agreement could not protect the nuclear plant from the consumer becoming insolvent and in any case, many industrial operations or factories have shorter lifespans than nuclear plants. What are the options that are attractive to investors?
The consultation directly addresses the industry, saying “We want to hear from you about what we can do to help the advanced nuclear sector work with regulators, access land and develop a business model that drives investment.” ■
36 | March 2024 |
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