Three-Month Delay Hits U.K. Nuclear Plans

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The impact of the Japanese nuclear disaster continues to be felt across Europe, as the U.K. has decided to delay its new nuclear build programme for three months. The country, which has set out the most ambitious new nuclear build programme in Europe, has become the latest to temporarily freeze its plans so as to perform a safety review.

The U.K. government approved eight out of 11 locations for new nuclear power plants to be built last October. For additional information, see October 21, 2010, article - U.K. Approves Eight Nuclear Power Plant Locations. However, in the wake of the Fukushima incident, the publication of the final generic design assessment (GDA) report on the proposed nuclear reactor designs will be pushed back from June to September to coincide with a new safety report. Industrial Info is tracking all new nuclear build projects in the U.K. and Europe; more information can be found in Industrial Info's Power Tracker database.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) are in the final stages of assessing two nuclear reactor designs: 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).

Chief Nuclear Inspector Mike Weightman has been tasked by Chris Huhne, the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to prepare a report on implications for the U.K. nuclear industry following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was triggered by the massive earthquake and resulting tsunami on March 11. Since then, the budding renaissance of nuclear power in Europe has been rocked, with many governments delaying or re-evaluating their stance in the wake of the disaster.

"It is not possible to define the final scope of the report at this stage," said a statement from the Office for Nuclear Regulation. "The events in Japan are not yet clear, and relevant issues may emerge over the coming days or weeks that Mike Weightman would need to take into account in the final report. It is also possible that, once defined, the scope of the full report will need to be refined as further information becomes available."

An interim report is expected in May, with a final report due in September.

The HSE commented: "As Mike Weightman's interim report is expected in May and his final report in September, we will not now draw conclusions from our assessments in June 2011 as planned. This will allow us to take account of relevant recommendations from these reports.

"Safety and protection of people and the environment will always be our top priority, and it is important that we take the necessary time needed to ensure that we learn any relevant lessons emerging from the events in Japan, and implement any improvements that might be required for the new reactor designs."

In recent weeks, Germany has called for the temporary closure of seven of its oldest reactors, while Switzerland has frozen the approvals process for two planned nuclear projects. For related news, see March 18, 2011, article - Germany to Shut Down Oldest Nuclear Power Stations, and March 16, 2011, article - Switzerland Halts Nuclear Plant Programme.

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