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The Magazine of the UK Nuclear Industry Association Civil Nuclear Industry Jobs Map 2010 Special Issue Nuclear Brief New nuclear power will help drive down the UK’s carbon emissions and contribute to ensuring a secure energy future. Story: Keith Parker, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association Nuclear power alone is not a silver bullet for the UK’s energy needs - the only true way to ensure we have Privately funded new nuclear will be crucial in helping the UK plentiful and affordable supplies of clean secure electricity meet our climate change obligations and securing energy supply is through a balanced energy mix - but that mix must maintain a substantial element of secure clean nuclear • The fuel for nuclear power stations is imported from stable energy at it’s heart. allied states such as Canada and Australia. We also have So why is nuclear so essential to the UK’s energy future? substantially in excess of 60 years of fuel for a nuclear fleet • Nuclear power has full lifecycle carbon emissions roughly already in the UK. This means that nuclear power is equal to those of wind power - making it a key strategically secure, not subject to sudden and devastating component of our low-carbon future. Our present nuclear supply interruptions. fleet - providing about 16% of UK electricity - prevents • Nuclear waste is well understood, it has been managed safely the release of around 40,000,000 tonnes of carbon every in the UK for some 60 years and we are making progress year in the UK. towards developing a final storage repository. See overleaf for • Nuclear power supplies constant base-load electricity that more details. an advanced industrial nation needs. This means that it • The biggest single cost in nuclear generation is station operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nuclear is the construction - fuel costs represent just 11% of expenditure only low-carbon base-load option. - as opposed to nearer 70% for gas. This means that the costs • Nuclear power provides much of the electricity to UK of nuclear generation are extremely stable and consumers can train services. It is thanks to nuclear that we have a low predict prices well in advance. carbon option for travel; and as electric cars become more • Nuclear is a cost-effective way to generate electricity and prevalent, low-carbon nuclear will become yet more successive studies have shown it to be a sound investment important. for any generator that wants to develop a low-carbon portfolio. • New nuclear in the UK will be completely privately funded, including the costs of decommissioning. That was the case under the lat government, and it remains the case under the In this issue... new coalition. The industry understands that subsidies are not Nuclear brief being offered, and we are not asking for any. Decommissioning highlights Those are just some of the reasons why new nuclear power is Managing our legacy wastes crucial to the UK’s energy security and climate security. Within this publication you’ll hear more about why it’s also important Keeping the lights on and the econmy running to our economic security, to avoiding fuel-poverty and to Fuel poverty in the UK securing the jobs of around 90,000 workers across the UK. Climate change - a local and global imperative At a time where we are facing many challenges, economic, Tackling transport carbon climatic, strategic - in so many ways, nuclear is part of the solution. Distribution of jobs in the UK civil nuclear industry Nuclear - clean-air energy www.niauk.org TacklingTackling fuelfuel povertypoverty Energy is a precious commodity and fuel poverty has been a challenging issue for successive administrations since the term entered the popular vocabulary some twenty years ago. Paul Spence, EDF Energy’s Director of Strategy and Regulation Efforts to tackle the problem through energy efficiency Rising fossil fuel prices are driving more initiatives continue to be vital. So too is direct support for people into fuel poverty vulnerable customers, an area in which EDF Energy has led the way, having launched the UK's first social tariff and the industry’s first energy trust fund. We believe new nuclear has a key role in this. The vast majority of commentators, including Government Advisors But at the same time we have seen an overall trend of higher such as PB Power and Mott MacDonald, are convinced wholesale gas prices. These, and other factors, have driven nuclear is the most affordable low carbon choice. up household bills even while measures to boost efficiency have helped reduce energy consumption. Different sources of power all have their part to play but none can provide the solution to the UK’s energy mix alone. Climate change legislation, distribution charges and taxes Gas may be affordable but will do little to reduce carbon also effect consumer energy costs. At the same time we face emissions. Renewables are able to help us meet our climate the challenge to tackle climate change. targets, but they are likely to prove more expensive. All these factors combine as the industry prepares to invest All of which highlights the importance of nuclear as part of billions of pounds in the new low-carbon power generation the energy mix. EDF Energy’s nuclear new build programme which will help us meet the UK's carbon reduction targets becomes even more urgent as part of the effort to secure while maintaining security of supply. affordable energy supply in a low-carbon world. Alongside The drive to tackle fuel poverty at the same time means we energy efficiency and direct support for vulnerable must invest in the most affordable options. customers, it is vital to help prevent more people falling into the fuel poverty trap. Transport Nuclear... Nuclear already contributes protecting the climate significantly to carbon reductions in the transport sector, and will play an increasing role in the Stephen Tindale, Former Greenpeace Executive future. It is well known that train Director and co-founder of Climate Answers, writes for Industry Link. [email protected] travel is low carbon and the most The UK’s trains are low environmentally friendly form of carbon because 86% of transport. However it is less well Everyone should support the building of new the electricity that powers known that one of the main nuclear power stations to help control climate them comes from nuclear reasons is because the UK’s power stations change argues the former Greenpeace electrified rail network is Executive Director Stephen Tindale. powered by EDF Energy with an 86% nuclear fuel mix. The government has committed to We must stop arguing about whether energy efficiency, electrify the remaining parts of the UK rail network and it renewables, carbon capture and storage or nuclear are will be vital to maintain this as a low carbon system. 'better' to cut carbon emissions. We need all of them. The UK needs to reduce emissions in the road network too. I have spent the last two decades arguing and campaigning Much can be done through fuel efficiency and the use of against nuclear power. If governments had been serious hybrid vehicles, but in the long term alternative fuels will about renewables expansion 20 years ago, it might have need to be found. The increased use of electric powered been possible to do without nuclear. But they weren't. The vehicles will inevitably require an increase in electricity climate crisis is now so great that we must do everything we supply, but this must be met by low carbon sources such as can, whatever the economic cost, to try to control it. Nuclear nuclear and renewables to achieve the carbon benefits. power is not zero carbon, but it is low carbon. Another route being pursued is hydrogen powered vehicles. There are clearly risks associated with nuclear power, At present hydrogen is mostly produced from fossil fuels, including radioactive waste and pollution. These are serious, but an alternative method would be to use electricity to and certainly cannot be ignored, but they are less serious electrolyse water, significantly increasing the demand for than the risk of uncontrolled climate change. electricity. However, the carbon reduction benefits would only be fully realised if that additional electricity production To read more of Stephen Tindale’s article were itself low carbon. visit www.niauk.org. NuclearNuclear cleanclean up:up: decommissioningdecommissioning highlightshighlights “2009/2010 has seen strong progress in the decommissioning agenda across the nuclear industry. From Dounreay on the north coast of Scotland to Dungeness on the south coast of England, and from Wylfa in Anglesey to Bradwell in Essex, performance has been good. This gives us confidence that having put the right plans and Dounreay on the north coast of Scotland resources in place we are starting to see real delivery across the sector. Harwell site - Four major buildings demolished Strong health and safety records have also been maintained Four major buildings were demolished at the Harwell site with several sites achieving awards in this area. We are during the last year. These included a former medical and pleased to be able to share some encouraging signs of health physics facility as well as a facility for post-irradiation progress in our mission”. and examination of fissile and non-fissile materials. Tony Fountain, CEO of the NDA Meanwhile, construction was completed of a new police and emergency services building as part of a project to release the Sellafield Limited - Reprocessing target smashed east of the site from nuclear industry designation. The reprocessing of spent fuel at Sellafield has exceeded target by 17 tonnes, with full-year cutting up of some 217 Dounreay - World record for hazard destruction tonnes of oxide fuel achieved in the Thermal Oxide A world record was set when Dounreay rid the NDA of one of Reprocessing Plant (THORP) against a target of 200 tonnes.

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