Chapter 9: Conclusions and recommendations
262. The UK's energy policy aims to achieve the
following objectives. (1) Energy security, protecting consumers
against fluctuations in the supply of fossil fuels from outside
the UK. (II) Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to meet the
legally binding commitments of the Climate Change Act (2008).
(III) Affordability, ensuring that consumers are not obliged to
pay more than necessary. (IV) Safety of supply. The Government
have said that it will deploy a portfolio of energy sources including
nuclear, renewable and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage
(CCS)[473]. There are
a range of scenarios with different proportions of these three
sources, but it is widely agreed that nuclear energy will play
a significant role in the portfolio. (paragraph 1)
263. The Government plans to give the go ahead
to start building new nuclear capacity in the UK in the next few
years, which will generate 16 GW of power. Some experts suggest
that 12 GW of energy generation is the minimum contribution that
nuclear could make to the energy portfolio up to 2050. However,
the weight of evidence indicates that a significantly higher contribution
of around 22-38 GW is likely to be required to enable early decarbonisation
of the sector before 2030 and to meet the UK's long-term greenhouse
gas emission targets up to 2050 and beyond. (paragraph 44)
264. The Government should now put in place plans
which provide for a range of contributions from nuclear energy
to the overall energy portfolio—from low to high—to
meet the UK's future energy needs up to 2050 and beyond. These
plans should ensure that the UK has adequate R&D capabilities
and associated expertise to keep the option of a higher nuclear
energy contribution to the energy portfolio open and recognise
that maintaining sufficient capabilities and suitably trained
people will require a long lead time. (paragraph 45)
265. We do not believe that the UK has sufficient
R&D capabilities and associated expertise to be able to cope
with the current nuclear programme up to 2050, let alone a significantly
extended programme. This is because the UK's current R&D capability
is, to a significant extent, based upon an ageing pool of experts
built on past investments in R&D. This means that in a few
years' time, there will be crucial gaps in capabilities. A new
stream of experts will need to be generated in the near future
if the UK is to retain sufficient capabilities to be an intelligent
customer and regulator in the future up to 2050. It takes years
to develop a significant cadre of suitably trained experts with
industry experience and the sector is reliant on the research
base to train these experts. Sufficient investment in the research
base will therefore be necessary in order to make up for the lack
of investment in the last two decades. (paragraphs 99 and 100)
266. The evidence we received demonstrates a
significant difference of opinion between, on the one hand, the
Secretary of State and some senior Government officials who appear
to believe that no action is required to sustain the nuclear research
base and, on the other hand, other stakeholders, including the
GCSA and DECC CSA, who argue that serious action is required.
The Government's view that the need for R&D capabilities and
associated expertise in the future will be met without Government
intervention is troublingly complacent. (paragraph 101)
Long-term policy planning to
encourage low-carbon technologies
267. We recommend that the Government should
set out a long-term strategy for nuclear energy, outlining:
- how they intend to keep the options open to ensure
that, if required, nuclear can contribute more to the energy portfolio
beyond the current plans for new build up to 2025; and
- how R&D capabilities and the associated expertise
will be maintained to keep the different nuclear energy options
open;
- how they intend to support the exploitation of
the UK's strengths in the research base for the commercial benefit
of the UK; and
- the role they envisage the UK playing in the
global nuclear market over the period to 2050 and beyond. This
should cover both the development of the supply chain for Generation
III technologies and the UK's involvement in the development of
new nuclear technologies in the future.
The strategy should extend up to and beyond 2050.
(paragraphs 63 and 79)(Recommendation 1)
ENERGY SECURITY
268. The Government have made a commitment to
improve the UK's energy security by reducing reliance on fossil
fuels. But in oral evidence the Secretary of State indicated that
he could envisage a future in which fossil fuels will dominate.
This apparent inconsistency causes us to question whether the
current policy framework is sufficient to encourage more secure,
low-carbon sources such as nuclear energy and renewables. (paragraph
86)
R&D Roadmap
269. We recommend that, as part of its long-term
nuclear energy strategy, DECC should lead the development and
implementation of a long-term R&D roadmap in collaboration
with industry, academia, the CCFE and NNL to ensure that the UK
has adequate R&D capabilities and the associated expertise
to keep a range of nuclear energy options open up to 2050 and
beyond. (paragraph 142)(Recommendation 2)
270. The roadmap will:
- improve co-ordination of R&D and associated
expertise and ensure that research on strategically important
and vulnerable areas, such as Generation IV technologies and advanced
fuel recycling and reprocessing, is covered within a national
R&D nuclear programme;
- ensure that the UK maintains a healthy research
base to attract people into the field to maintain capabilities
for the future;
- provide clarity and attract potential international
collaborators (this issue is discussed further in paragraphs 148
to 155 below); and
- provide industry with sufficient clarity to encourage
them to invest in R&D and associated expertise in the UK.
(paragraph 141)
271. Without the roadmap there is a danger that
the UK will lose its capabilities to act as an intelligent customer
and regulator in the next 10-20 years.
NUCLEAR R&D BOARD
272. We recommend that the Government should
establish a body (which we suggest may be called the Nuclear R&D
Board: "the Board") with both advisory and executive
functions.
(a) Composition
The Board should be made up of experts drawn from
the Government, industry and academia. It should have an independent,
expert, authoritative chairman who commands the respect of the
public and industry, and members which include non-executive members.
The members should be appointed through the Appointments Commission.
(b) Status
The Board should, at the earliest opportunity, be
established as a statutory Non-Departmental Public Body accountable
to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Pending
the legislation needed to bring this recommendation into effect,
the Government should, as an interim measure and without delay,
establish the Board as an Executive Agency within DECC.
(c) Purpose
The purpose of the Board would be to:
- advise DECC on the development and implementation
of the nuclear R&D roadmap and the Government's nuclear energy
strategy;
- monitor, and report on, progress by DECC with
regard to the development and implementation of the roadmap and
the strategy;
- advise the Government, industry and academia
on involving UK researchers in national and international collaborations
and, where appropriate, facilitating such involvement;
- examine what mechanisms are needed to signal
to the international research community that the UK is a credible
and willing partner for international collaborations;
- maintain a strategic overview of nuclear R&D
(including research facilities) and related training, and where
appropriate, facilitate the co-ordination of activities within
the research community;
- establish a clear link between fundamental and
applied research through to commercial exploitation for the benefit
of the UK;
- identify R&D areas of strategic importance
that are either missing or vulnerable and, where necessary, commission
research to complement the current R&D activities; and
- facilitate public engagement activities on the
use of nuclear technologies.
(d) Reporting
The Board should report annually to the Secretary
of State on its assessment of DECC's progress with regard to the
development and implementation of the roadmap and the strategy,
and other activities. The Secretary of State should be required
to lay the Board's annual report before Parliament.
(e) Funding
The Board should be given a modest amount of new
funding (not drawn from BIS's science and research budget) to
carry out its activities. It should also have the power to attract
money from industry and elsewhere. (paragraph 143)(Recommendation
3)
FUNDING
273. We are very aware of the current climate
of financial stringency. But if the Government's programme for
nuclear energy is to have credibility, it must be backed up by
adequate funding provision. We recommend that the Government should
discuss with the relevant stakeholders what additional funding
is required to implement the R&D roadmap. This funding might
come from a combination of stakeholder contributions or the reallocation
of funding from other sources (for example, reallocation of around
1% of the £2.8 billion allocated to decommissioning and clean
up each year). (paragraph 152)(Recommendation 4)
What should be in such a roadmap?
274. Further to Recommendation 2, within the
R&D Roadmap the proposed nuclear R&D Board should:
- outline a strategic approach to the UK's involvement
in international collaborations (through programmes such as Euratom)
to ensure that the UK has sufficient expertise, national programmes
and facilities to be seen as an attractive and credible partner
for research collaborations; (paragraph 161)
- consider what level of engagement in future technologies
is necessary at both the national and international level to enable
the UK to maintain sufficient capabilities within this area of
research, focusing on strategic areas of UK strength; (paragraph
171)
- investigate further the potential for access
to research reactor and other nuclear research facilities abroad,
within a globally co-ordinated programme of research collaborations;
(paragraph 176)
- integrate the ONR strategy into the roadmap which
should set out how the UK will maintain its international reputation
for nuclear safety expertise; (paragraph 195) and
- include research on the societal and ethical
dimensions of the use of nuclear energy in the UK as an integral
part. (paragraph 204)
275. We recommend also that the Government reinstates
UK active membership of GIF at the earliest opportunity. (paragraph
172)(Recommendation 5)
RESEARCH FACILITIES
276. We recommend that the proposed Nuclear R&D
Board should work with DECC, NNL, the NDA, BIS, the research councils
and relevant industry groups to develop a business case to commission
the Phase 3 laboratory at NNL as a national research facility
for studying irradiated materials, taking into account its wider
value to the nuclear sector and to the research community for
research and, in particular, its contribution to training the
next generation of experts and increasing the attractiveness of
the UK as a destination for international research collaboration.
(paragraph 181)(Recommendation 6)
LEGACY AND EXISTING SYSTEMS WASTE
277. We recommend that the NDA, NERC and other
relevant funders ensure that sufficient R&D capabilities and
associated expertise are maintained over the longer term to manage
legacy and existing systems waste. (paragraph 189) (Recommendation
7)
278. As part of these efforts, we suggest that:
- the NDA develops a long-term research programme
outlining how it will ensure that there are adequate R&D capabilities
and associated expertise to meet its future needs for geological
disposal and the disposition of the UK's plutonium stockpile;
- the research councils, particularly NERC, works
with the NDA to ensure that sufficient fundamental research on
radioactive waste management and disposal is commissioned to maintain
R&D capabilities and associated expertise in this field and
to ensure that research efforts are effectively co-ordinated across
the research councils; and
- RCUK commissions an independent review of the
UK's R&D capabilities and associated expertise in radioactive
waste management and disposal. (paragraph 190)
NUCLEAR SAFETY RESEARCH
279. We recommend that the ONR should not wait
until it has been set up as a statutory corporation to establish
a reformulated NuSAC, but should do so as soon as possible. The
advisory committee should provide independent and transparent
advice and external challenge to the ONR's work for both the Chief
Nuclear Inspector and the Secretary of State. (paragraph 197)(Recommendation
8)
280. We would also urge the Government to ensure
that there is no further delay in converting the ONR to a statutory
corporation and that in the meantime it is able to continue with
the existing arrangements that are in place (for example the interim
arrangements on pay discussed in paragraph 130). (paragraph 198)
SKILLS
281. We recommend that Cogent should conduct
a comprehensive assessment of the current provision of undergraduate,
Masters and PhD courses relevant to the nuclear sector to determine
whether they are sufficient to meet the future needs of the research
community, the regulator and industry for both the current plans
for new build and an extended programme up to 2050. (paragraph
127) (Recommendation 9)
Roles and responsibilities
282. Given the evidence of the apparent confusion
about the role of DECC, for the avoidance of doubt, we recommend
that DECC should be designated as the lead department in developing
a national nuclear policy and R&D roadmap, outlining what
R&D capabilities and associated expertise are necessary to
support its policies. (paragraph 200)(Recommendation
10)
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ADVANCED FUEL
RECYCLING AND REPROCESSING
283. We recommend that the Government, in consultation
with the proposed Nuclear R&D Board, should consider which
body should be given responsibility for maintaining R&D capabilities
and associated expertise in advanced fuel recycling and reprocessing
and, if none of the current bodies is considered to be appropriate,
they should consider whether a new one should be established.
(paragraph 219) (Recommendation 11)
THE ROLE OF THE NDA
284. We recommend that the Government should
clarify the NDA's responsibilities for dealing with new build
waste and for commissioning and co-ordinating research and maintaining
R&D capabilities and associated expertise in respect of new
build waste. (paragraph 222) (Recommendation 12)
THE ROLE OF NNL
285. We recommend that the Government extend
the remit of NNL to enable it to carry out a programme of applied
long-term R&D of national strategic need, under the direction
of the proposed nuclear R&D Board, in order to maintain capabilities
in vulnerable areas for which no body currently has responsibility
for (such as advanced fuel recycling and reprocessing and deep
geological disposal) and to maintain the breadth of R&D capabilities
and associated expertise needed to meet the UK's future energy
policies. (paragraph 250)(Recommendation 13)
286. The Government should extend the length
of NNL's contract to allow it to invest, and attract investment,
in the infrastructure and expertise required to support longer-term
research objectives. (paragraph 253)
The need for an integrated policy
approach
287. We recommend that responsibility for co-ordinating
overlapping nuclear R&D capability requirements across Government
should be assigned to the proposed Nuclear R&D Board to ensure
that the UK's nuclear R&D capabilities and associated expertise
match the UK's requirements across different policy areas in the
long term. (paragraph 261)(Recommendation 14)
473 As well as increasing energy efficiency and reducing
demand. Back
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