Jun 26 (NucNet): The nuclear industry in the UK needs further clarity on the arrangements for dealing with radioactive waste management and decommissioning, British Energy (BE) Group chairman Sir Adrian Montague has said.
Sir Adrian told a London conference* today that BE has been very encouraged so far by government initiatives on forming a policy on nuclear energy, but said there’s still a lot of work be done on providing a framework for new nuclear build.
Praising the government’s initiative to streamline the planning process for major energy infrastructure projects, he said it was essential to avoid the kind of planning delays that resulted in it taking seven years from planning application to planning approval for the Sizewell B nuclear unit in eastern England.
Tim Stone, a special advisor to the secretary of state for trade and industry, said anyone wanting to construct a new nuclear unit would be “fully responsible” for its decommissioning and waste management.
He said making sure funds were available was paramount and the government was looking at three options for this: keeping funds within the company but on a separate balance sheet, keeping funds with the government, or placing them in an independent fund.
In an opening speech Lord Truscott, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for energy, said the government will set the framework for new build, but the timing and construction for the first nuclear unit would be up to the industry.
He said the industry would be responsible for meetings its “full share” of the cost of waste management and disposal.
Lord Truscott said he had been told by one energy company that if the government gives the go-ahead for new build it could have the first rector up and running by 2017. Lord Truscott did not name the company.
In May 2007 the British government published a policy document setting out proposals for major reforms of the country’s planning system including streamlining the approval of major infrastructure projects such as new power plants.
Yesterday the British government published proposals on how to choose a site for the long-term disposal of higher activity radioactive waste.
A consultation is seeking views on the technical aspects of designing and delivering a disposal facility for the waste. It also seeks input on the process and criteria to be used in deciding where the future facility should be located.
The consultation is not the start of a site selection process – it is about deciding on the process for how a site for the repository is chosen.
* Nuclear New Build: The Role of the Private Sector is organised by City & Financial Conferences and is being held from 26-27 June 2007 at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in London.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
UK Proposes Planning Overhaul For Major Energy Projects (News No. 123, 21 May 2007)
Consultation Starts On Selection Process For UK Waste Site (News in Brief No. 13, 25 June 2007)
