The Future of the Nuclear Power Industry in the UK and Implications for the South West Peter Higginson Technical & Safety Manager Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station 06 June 2007

2 Engineering Centres Barnwood – Gloucester Renfrew – Glasgow Offices Livingston Paddington Hunterston Torness Hartlepool Hinkley Point B Sizewell B Dungeness B Heysham 1 & 2 Eggborough 20% Capacity 11,600MW British Energy Up to 7,000 full-time staff

3 Hinkley Point B 515 BE employees 150 full time contract staff 19 Apprentices Generating since MW capacity Can supply enough electricity for over 1 million households

4 27 Nuclear sites 40,000 direct jobs 80,000 jobs in total The Nuclear Industry UK-wide Source: Nuclear Industry Association 2007

5 UK Electricity Mix 20% - Renewables 33% - Coal 40% - Gas 19% - Nuclear 5% - Renewables 1% - Oil 2% - Imports (inc Nuclear) Source: DTI – UK Energy in Brief (July 2005)

6 Sizewell B Anticipated Decommissioning Dates By 2023

7 Key issues for the future of nuclear power Energy Policy  Government policy decision on replacement nuclear Technology Licensing  Clarity on process, nature and timetable for licensing Planning and Consenting  Planning and consenting process and timetable Waste Disposal  Technical solution and funding arrangements for waste disposal Decommiss- ioning  Clarity on treatment of decommissioning liabilities Market Structure  Appropriate framework to drive policy objectives Public Acceptability  Debate and education to improve public acceptability

8 Where are we now? 2007 Planning White Paper - “If we are to thrive, we need a better system for taking the difficult decisions. If we do not the risks are significant - energy shortages, mounting congestion and increasing pollution.”  Climate change and sustainable development would be put "right at the heart" of the planning system.  The White Paper would ensure transparency and encourage timely decisions to be made

9 Where are we now? 2007 Energy White Paper - “We face two big challenges - climate change and maintaining stable and affordable energy supply in an increasingly unstable world.”  Public consultation on nuclear power – ending October 2007  Related consultations on justification, suite assessment and pre-licensing of nuclear reactors (HSE)

10 A Role for British Energy Aspiration - to be at the heart of any New Nuclear Programme  Three key assets: –Sites with potential for development –People with nuclear skills –Knowledge of the UK regulatory framework

11 Met Office and Halcrow studies  Met Office – acknowledged authority on climate change –Temperatures, precipitation, wind, sea level  Halcrow – acknowledged authority on geo- morphology and civil engineering –Response of coast to climate change – erosion, flooding –Mitigation strategies

12 Met Office study  For most conservative IPCC scenario (“high emissions”): –Summer temperatures 5-6C higher –Precipitation 30-35% higher in Winter, 40-60% lower in Summer –Winds 10% stronger in Winter

13 Halcrow study  Assess response of coast to these changes in sea level, storminess and surges  Evaluate implications for: –Erosion –Flooding  Identify mitigation needed to secure viability in worst case

14 Site Viability  Each site remains viable up to end of 21 st century  Requires combination of coastal defence, flood protection, location and height of station structures –For Hinkley Point – ‘Hard’ cliff protection measures should be used to prevent erosion, with the station structures set back from the cliff line. No flood risks for this elevated site are predicted.  Significant but acceptable

15 Equivalent to removing 5 out of every 8 cars from the UK’s roads Nuclear – A Low-carbon Technology Every year British Energy nuclear stations save over 40million tonnes of CO² into the atmosphere Source: British Energy Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2006

16 Life-cycle CO² emissions for Torness Source - Environmental Product Declaration for Torness Nuclear Power Station, AEA Technology (for British Energy Group plc), July

17 Life-cycle CO² emissions for Torness Mining The Nuclear Life-cycle Conversion Enrichment Fuel Fabrication Generation Decommissioning Storage Reprocessing Disposal

18 Life-cycle CO² emissions for Torness Extraction Conversion Enrichment Fuel fabrication Construction/decommissioning Operations Reprocessing Construction - waste facilities Operation - waste facilities g/kWh

Coal GasNuclear g/kWh Total emissions nuclear 5.05 g/kWh Life-cycle CO 2 emissions Source: AEA Technology study of Torness Power Station

20 Waste a key issue Waste in perspective  Radioactive waste: –Volumes - Small (90% LLW, 10% ILW, 0.1% HLW) –Character - Not uniquely hazardous; stored safely and monitored –Lifetimes - Majority of ILW and HLW have short half-lives (up to a few decades) –New build - Replace nuclear with nuclear would increase volumes by between 5 and 10% LLW and ILW repository Olkiluoto, Finland Source: POSIVA

21 Nuclear power developments  435 commercial nuclear power reactors  Almost 370,000 MWe of total capacity  Supplies 16% of the world's electricity  30 new reactors being built  35 or more online in the next 10 years Source: Nuclear Industry Association 2007

22 Other countries are pressing ahead Olkiluoto 3 in Finland – scheduled for completion in 2010/11 (photos courtesy of TVO) Reactor building Turbine hall

23 15% - Coal 40% - Gas 25% - Nuclear 20% - Renewables Our view - a balanced energy mix…

24 Thank you for listening Q&A