18 May (NucNet): Nuclear energy group Areva has said a new generation of nuclear power plants can be launched in the UK without government subsidy and operate within a competitive energy market.
But the company, which has built 98 of the world’s 446 commercially operating nuclear reactors, said the government should facilitate new-build by putting in place a modernised planning and regulatory system to make the approval processes faster and more predictable.
Areva said the UK’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate should be given the resources to perform its assessments in a timely manner. And it called for a policy framework for long-term radioactive waste management to reassure the public that the issue is properly tackled and to provide potential investors with clarity on potential costs and liabilities.
Areva made its recommendations in a submission to the UK government’s energy review, which was announced in 2005 and is intended to set out the direction of the country’s energy policy. British prime minister Tony Blair said the review would be published in 2006 and would take into account all energy options including nuclear power.
The Areva submission says that with the right processes in place, a new nuclear power plant in the UK could be generating electricity by 2017. The UK will benefit from the standardisation of technology and the experience of nuclear companies in Europe, the US and Asia, leading to a more predictable cost and build time for UK stations.
Decommissioning is not a financial obstacle to building new nuclear power plants and does not alter nuclear competitiveness, because the costs can be easily provided for over the 60-year life of the plant, said Areva.
The company also concluded that global uranium supply is sufficient for investment in new generation reactors over their life span.
In a widely publicised speech earlier this week, Mr Blair paved the way for the possibility of new nuclear power plants in the UK by saying nuclear energy will help the country become less dependent on foreign gas imports.
Mr Blair said he had seen the “first cut” of the energy review and “the facts are stark”. He said by 2025, if current policy is unchanged, the country will become 80% or 90% dependent on foreign imports of gas.
As part of the consultation phase of the energy review, the UK government invited the public, industry and specialists to contribute submissions.
