NEW BUILD | UK NUCLEAR BREAKTHROUGH
Will 2023 be the UK breakthrough year?
The UK’s spring budget statement included some promises on nuclear development. Has the government done enough to make progress towards its targets?
Janet Wood
Expert author on energy issues
THE UK’S NUCLEAR INDUSTRY RECEIVED some useful reassurance in March, when the Climate Change Committee (CCC) concluded in a new report – Delivering a reliable decarbonised power system – that the government’s nuclear plans were consistent with operating a zero-carbon power industry. In addition, in the spring budget statement the government announced that nuclear will be in the ‘green’ group in a planned taxonomy of energy technologies (following on from the taxonomy already published by the EU). In the same statement Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he wanted nuclear to provide a quarter of UK electricity by 2050 – somewhat above the CCC’s target. But the general consensus that some level of nuclear
generation would be a positive benefit in running a Net Zero system has increased frustration over slow progress towards replacing the existing nuclear fleet. Political changes in the UK have slowed the government’s plans for new nuclear investment and the industry has tried to pressure government to make key decisions within the next year to maintain momentum in the programme. The CCC provides analysis and advice to government on meeting the country’s legally-binding Net Zero carbon emissions target, along with regular score cards on the country’s progress. It covers the entire economy, but its focused report on “what a reliable, resilient, decarbonised electricity supply system could look like in 2035, and the steps required to achieve it” is a key document, because decarbonised energy supply is an enabler for other sectors.
It says that “a decarbonised power system by 2035 is
achievable, but it requires that barriers to swift deployment of critical infrastructure are removed, and policy gaps remedied.” Its comment that a flexible low-carbon electricity system based on renewables and nuclear, “would also cut our exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets” and that “these conclusions have new significance following the recent period of heightened energy insecurity” are also calculated to exert pressure on the government, which has been placing emphasis on energy security – reconfiguring its previous Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. In his statement Chancellor Hunt said the long-term solution to providing ‘cheap and reliable’ energy “is not subsidy but security”. The CCC joined other interested parties in calling for action this year. In 2023 it wants the government to set out a “vision for what a well-adapted and climate resilient energy system will look like” and “create a minister-led infrastructure delivery group, advised by the new Electricity Networks Commissioner, to ensure enabling initiatives for energy infrastructure build are taken forward at pace, and necessary policy changes are implemented across the UK, to deliver a decarbonised and resilient power system by 2035”. In capacity terms, the government still has an ambition to
ramp up investment, with targets of 24 GW by 2050 and one project to reach final investment decision this Parliament (ie by mid-2024) and two in the next (ie by mid-2028).
Right: Hinkley Point C is already under construction Source: EDF
34 | April 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47
