Final Eight U.K. Nuclear Sites Confirmed

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The coalition government in the U.K. has confirmed the final eight sites for potential nuclear plants and ruled out three others.

The locations were submitted to Parliament for approval as part of its National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure. The final choices remain unchanged from those given the preliminary go-ahead last October. For additional information, see October 21, 2010, article - U.K. Approves Eight Nuclear Power Plant Locations.

The news follows hot on the heels of last week's decision to allow Reactor 1 at the Oldbury nuclear plant in South Gloucestershire, England, to operate until the end of 2012. The unit had been scheduled to stop operating at the end of this month along with Reactor 2. For additional information, see June 24, 2011, article - Oldbury Nuclear Plant Avoids Closure.

Despite a reversal on nuclear power policy in Germany, Italy and Switzerland following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March, the U.K. is forging ahead with what will be Europe's largest fleet of new nuclear power stations. The government said that it expects the new plants to contribute 10,000-14,000 megawatts (MW) of new electricity capacity between 2018 and 2025, depending on the choice of reactor design. The European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), designed by Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris) and Electricite de France (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) and the AP1000 from Toshiba-owned Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Monroeville, Pennsylvania) are in the final assessment stage by U.K's Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.

The suitable sites listed in the Nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS) are Bradwell-on-Sea, Hartlepool, Heysham, Hinkley Point, Oldbury, Sellafield, Sizewell, and Wylfa. Those that were ruled out for a variety of environmental reasons include Braystones, Kirksanton and Dungeness. Parliament will assess the statements, and a vote is expected this summer.

The U.K. is facing an energy crisis from the middle of this decade, when many nuclear power plants and fossil-fuelled power plants are scheduled to close. By 2020, a quarter of the U.K.'s generation capacity will have disappeared. According to government figures, U.K. energy imports could rise to 46%-58% within 10 years, up from 27% last year, while the country's energy regulator, Ofgem, predicts that electricity blackouts could threaten the country as early as 2016.

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