Press Release

THE UK’S CIVIL NUCLEAR TRADE ASSOCIATION today hailed the “clear and tangible progress” after government “justified” new reactor designs and released further draft National Policy Statements.

Keith Parker, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) was speaking today in light of the government’s announcements and said he is: “delighted to see that the coalition’s positive words have been matched by some concrete actions”.

Government today confirmed the new generation of reactors designs were justified– an important legal step on the road to new nuclear power stations in the UK – and released National Policy Statements (NPS’s) – a key phase of the planning for all large infrastructure projects – for a second phase of public consultation.

Keith Parker said: “Our member companies are preparing to invest billions of pounds in the UK’s energy infrastructure and we welcome this added clarity from Government. New nuclear build will be one of the biggest programmes of private infrastructure investment which this country has ever seen. These positive moves from government – coupled with a maintained forward progress – will reassure those investors that the political framework is sufficiently stable to allow that commitment to be made”.

Justification is a legal requirement under EU and UK law, which requires that the benefits of a new process must outweigh the radiological health detriments. The Secretary of State’s conclusion was based on a review of a detailed application made by the NIA with support from the major utilities.

International leaders will discuss the imminent future of the industry in light of recent and expected economics. Improved growth, pricing, strategy and performance will be the key focus for the days discussions with expert knowledge sharing on an analytical level. The session will host Europe’s leading strategists within the industry discussing: Read it all..

Press Release

Two North West companies Cammell Laird and Nuvia are announcing an ambitious partnership agreement today which aims to ‘catapult’ them to the forefront of the UK’s multi billion pound new nuclear build programme.

The agreement will see Merseyside based Cammell Laird and nuclear engineering specialist Nuvia Limited, based in Risley, Warrington, join forces to bid for contracts for the fabrication of heavy modules and components for new nuclear plants. Read it all..

Press Release

Further information regarding the evolution of EDF shareholding in RTE following market rumours

Pursuant to the Law dated June 28, 2006, on the securing of the financing of nuclear expenses, EDF must build up a portfolio of dedicated assets enabling the Group to meet its future costs in terms of decommissioning of existing nuclear power plants as well as in respect of radioactive waste storage. Read it all..

Press Release

Frazer-Nash, the systems and engineering technology consultancy, has been awarded a five-year framework contract and three significant work packages by Horizon Nuclear Power, the company which aims to develop and operate around 6,000 MW of new nuclear power stations in the UK by 2025. Read it all..

Press release

The UK’s civil nuclear trade association has today assured the public that it remains confident that new nuclear will be delivered in a timely manner; despite the governments announcements of a second period of consultation on the energy National Policy Statements. Read it all..

Press Release

Costain’s current work on the Evaporator-D plant at Sellafield which is currently the largest nuclear construction project in the UK gives the company a strong position to benefit from approaching nuclear power plant construction contracts, believes its new Nuclear Development Director.

“The prospects are very good. There will be up to 12 nuclear reactors built in the next 10 years, a market that’s worth around £50billion,” says Alistair Smith. My role is to help Costain win some of the major opportunities in building these new nuclear power stations.”

Costain has formed a consortium, ConstructEnergy, with Sir Robert McAlpine, Hochtief and Heitkamp to take advantage of the potential opportunities in the nuclear new build sector. Costain will bring its experience from its current nuclear construction projects and its ongoing interests across the Power market.

Although the country’s economic situation has led to the Government cutting back on spending, Smith believes that the nuclear reactor construction programme will go ahead, both because nuclear power can be the cheapest form of generating low carbon power and because the construction programme will require no Government subsidies.

Additionally, with North Sea oil and gas in rapid decline and many of the older generation of nuclear power station approaching closure, new generating capacity is urgently needed. “Power utilities know that they need to invest in a mix of power generation technologies, including renewables, efficient gas power plants and nuclear to provide the country with secure, low-carbon and affordable electricity,” Smith commented.

Smith, 50, who has recently joined Costain from consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), hopes to bring a lifetime’s experience in the nuclear sector to win work for Costain.

Before his five years with PB, where he was Director of Nuclear services, he was with the National Nuclear Corporation (NNC) for 23 years. NNC was the organisation that designed and built the previous generation of nuclear power plants. He is Chairman of the Power Industries Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and holds the same position with the Industry Affairs Group in the Nuclear Industry Association, which represents the interests of industrial members in discussions with clients, Government and regulatory bodies.

Kevin Allars, Director of New Build GDA at the HSE, and Joe McHugh, Head of Radioactive Substances Regulation at the Environment Agency, have today published the fourth Quarterly Report for 2009 (October – December).  This provides an update on our work to assess new nuclear power station designs.

In summary, good progress continues on the assessment, but many technical issues remain open and the successful clearance of these will require high quality and timely information from the Requesting Parties (RPs).

View Fourth GDA Quarterly Report for 2009

Press release

Westinghouse Electric Company will team with a consortium of The Shaw Group (NYSE: SHAW) and the U.K. construction firm Laing O’Rourke as the constructor for the pursuit of new nuclear plant business in the United Kingdom. Read it all..

Press Release

London, UK, 2 December 2009 — Malcolm Wicks MP, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on International Energy Issues; former Minister of State for Energy has agreed to present the case for a new generation of nuclear reactors in the context of the challenges that face the UK and the global community. 

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