New nuclear can close the power gap, says major report

A new report from the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has urged the UK government to develop a Nuclear Strategic Plan to deliver new nuclear power stations.

The Committee argues that the government is right to look to nuclear power for future needs, but that the target of 24GW of nuclear power by 2050 is just a 'wish list' without a comprehensive and detailed strategy to go alongside. 

The goal of 24GW would be twice the highest installed capacity the UK has ever achieved, and will require new gigawatt-scale nuclear power, as well as the potential use of small modular reactors, advanced modular reactors and perhaps even breakthroughs in nuclear fusion. But the report, which canvassed opinion from witnesses across the industry, argues that will be difficult without a clear and concrete strategic plan. 

It also says it will be important to focus on establishing the right mix of technologies, and how new nuclear will be financed, as well as investment in skills. "If the Government's 24 GW target is to be met, the current nuclear workforce of over 65,000 people will need to more than double, requiring between 75,000 and 150,000 new recruits," write the authors.

"Attracting and training the workforce which is required to meet the Government's ambition for nuclear, needs co-ordinated actions by the whole sector: Government, existing nuclear operators, developers, regulators and educational institutions. We have now reached the point in which high-level goals need to be turned into specific commitments by individual organisations by particular dates."

“The Government is right to identify nuclear power as an important contributor to meeting our future electricity needs," said Greg Clark MP, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. "It has stretching ambitions to achieve 24 GW of nuclear power by 2050. This would be almost double the highest level of nuclear generation that the UK has ever attained. The only way to achieve this is to translate these very high-level aspirations into a comprehensive, concrete and detailed Nuclear Strategic Plan which is developed jointly with the nuclear industry, which enjoys long-term cross-party political commitment and which therefore offers dependability for private and public investment decisions.

“Done right, the UK can be in the vanguard of delivering nuclear innovation, jobs and clean, affordable and reliable energy. But there is now an urgent need to turn hopes into actions.”