Industry Link - June 2014

THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES RE:GENERATION, A CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF NUCLEAR POWER BY UTILISING THE SECTORS BEST AMBASSADORS – IT’S EMPLOYEES

MAGAZINE OF THE UK NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION SUMMER / 2014

NIAUK.ORG

Diversity and Inclusion RECOGNISING THE INDUSTRY STARS OF TOMORROW HPC State Aid Tests

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SMALL NUCLEAR POWER - BIG OPPORTUNITY 22

Welcome to IndustryLink

SNAPSHOT

Parliament has returned following the Queens Speech, marking the final year in power for the coalition before the election on 7 May 2015. While Ministers paused for thought during the break prior to the announcement of new Bills, their ministries continue to power on, with DECC working on legislative instruments related to the Energy Act 2013.

Whilst the pace slowed in Westminster, across the European Union the scenery has change dramatically. The 2014 election has swept in a large number of anti-EU MEPs from across member states. This at a time when Europe is seeking cross boarder collaboration on decarbonisation and long term measures in energy. In late May, the Global Sustainability Institute issued a report claiming that “In just over five years Britain will have run out of oil, coal and gas”.

Furthermore, this comes at the same time as the Commission released a communiqué arguing for an European Energy Security Strategy. Central to that strategy is the urgent need for the EU to increase its indigenous energy production, reduce dependence upon external suppliers, and encourage diversity in the energy mix in order to meet its energy needs. It will be interesting to see how the new MEPs interpret and deliver the needs of the European Union on the complex energy market.

CLYDEUNION PUMPS REBRANDED PAGE 18

VISIT NIAUK.ORG

Alastair Evans Alastair.Evans@niauk.org

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This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) is the trade association and representative voice of the UK’s civil nuclear industry. We represent 62,000 UK nuclear workers across more than 260 member companies.

Nuclear Industry Association is a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 2804518

Press Enquiries Sara.Crane@niauk.org TEL 07803 696 786

Registered Office Carlton House 22A St James’s Square London SW1Y 4JH TEL +44(0)20 7766 6640 EMAIL info@niauk.org

Advertisement Enquiries Rupert.Lewis@niauk.org TEL 020 7766 6642

Editor - Alastair Evans Art Editor - Dan Powney Contributors Rupert Lewis, Rachel Dowling, Sara Crane, Peter Haslam, Stephanie McKenna, John Hutton, Nicola Mason – AMEC, Carol Cloughley – Bird & Bird, John Houlden – Burges Salmon, with additional thanks to World Nuclear News

Follow us: @NIAUK

IN VIEW

ENERGY SECURITY MOVES UP THE AGENDA PAGE 21

PAGE 26 OPINION

“ A procurement will only be truly successful if the contract delivers”

One year of progress

Media Watch EW WSSS NNNEEW

The Nuclear Industry Association’s (NIA) Head of Policy, Peter Haslam was interviewed on LBC radio to discuss energy polling results released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The survey highlighted an increase in support for nuclear (42%) compared to opposition (20%) and Peter was invited to explain why nuclear power was becoming more popular in the UK. During the interview, Peter explained that the upward trend has been ongoing for a number of years and it is important the industry maintains this high level of political and public support. Discussion led onto nuclear power’s low carbon credentials and the damaging impact the German Government’s decision to move away from nuclear has had on their carbon emissions and domestic energy bills.

Leading columnist, Simon Jenkins wrote a piece in the Guardian entitled ‘Renewable energy won't rid us of the horrors of coal’ arguing that “a dash to gas and nuclear is vital”. Sparked by the coal mining disaster in Turkey, Jenkins explained that CO2 emission targets set by the British Government could be reached more effectivley by switching to gas and nuclear.

He also outlined that the “rush to renewables remains a conundrum of modern government.”

The CBBC programme ‘Absolute Genius’ starring Dick ‘N’ Dom which looks at the lives, inventions, and legacies of a number of great inventors, scientists and engineers explored nuclear power. The programme which aired in April investigated Marie Curie and her pioneering research on radioactivity. Aimed at an audience of 6-12 year olds they visited Dungeness B power station in Kent to learn about nuclear power generation and the reaction that takes place in the reactor.

BY. JOHN HUTTON

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urope, and the UK in particular stands on the cusp of a new nuclear build programme, the like of which has not been seen since the 60s and 70s. Globally, an estimated £930 billion will be invested in nuclear new build in the next 20 years, with another £250 billion for decommissioning old plants.

With this in mind, it is vital that Government and industry work together to realise these huge potential benefits for UK businesses. To this end, the Nuclear Industrial Strategy was published in 2013, providing a strong indication of the Government’s commitment to nuclear energy now and in to the future. Indeed, Professor Sir John Beddington, then the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, stated: “A non-nuclear scenario is not one the government is thinking seriously about”. If the UK is to meet its climate change and energy security obligations, nuclear energy is and will continue to be vital to the UK’s energy mix.

Shortly after publication of the strategy, the Nuclear Industry Council (NIC) was established to bring together developers, technology vendors, major contractors and Government. The Council, of which I am co-chairman, considers how to successfully deliver these huge infrastructure projects and to maximise the economic opportunities from the nuclear renaissance while maintaining public support.

The Council has three priorities over the next year: →→ Demonstrating and supporting the capability to deliver

new build, operation and support of the existing fleet and successful decommissioning

→→ Building the necessary capacity and skills to meet the

requirements of a growing nuclear programme in the context of huge demands from other areas of energy and infrastructure

→→ Delivering projects to time and within budget, and improving

The NIA, Chief Executive Keith Parker was interviewed by the Financial Times on 23 May. The interview centred on the impact the Japanese Governments decision to restart their nuclear power stations will have on the industry.

Keith explained the reasonable shutdown of their nuclear fleet had emphasised the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear power generation. Keith also explained that the global nuclear industry is growing and at present there are more power stations under construction now than at any point in the last 15 years.

Keith Parker was interviewed by The Engineer magazine to discuss engineering skills in the nuclear industry. Keith spoke about the important role engineer’s play in the industry at present; working on decommissioning projects as well as helping to manage and maintain operating power stations.

In relation to new build, Keith explained that there will be thousands of opportunities for young engineers all across the country and the industry have launched a number of initiatives to highlight and plug any potential skills gaps.

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the competitiveness of nuclear

Cutting across all three priorities is the need for the UK to succeed in its first new reactor build since Sizewell B, over 20 years ago. The Hinkley Point C project is a critical milestone for the industry, not just the new build programme. Hinkley Point C alone will create around 5,600 jobs on site at its peak as well as 400 new apprenticeships and could boost GDP by up to 0.34% per year – equivalent to £5.1 billion in 2011 – for 15 years according to an IPPR report. This goes to show how UK manufacturing must rapidly capitalise on the opportunities.

Responsibility for delivering a new nuclear programme falls to industry itself. With the right facilitative actions by Government now in place, industry is preparing to meet the challenge.

The momentum behind nuclear new build focuses attention on business and job opportunities. UK industry needs to meet the requirements of supplying the nuclear market both in new build and in decommissioning by developing capacity in facilities and skills.

Big opportunities exist for business in the existing nuclear fleet, and in decommissioning. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) spends £1.6 billion a year on its supply chain – £10.4 billion since 2005 – with plans for 18% of that by value to go to small and medium sized companies.

The Nuclear Industry Council has been operating for a year. It has built a common approach across industry and Government to the challenges and priorities for the sector. The Council has drawn a significant contribution of management time from industry and builds on existing initiatives. For this to work well, the Government and industry will need to continue to be open and honest about the challenges, and allow time for meaningful consultations so we continue to share a common vision.

Some good initiatives are underway already. The Programme Management Board is assessing the readiness of UK manufacturers to exploit market opportunities. And for small and medium sized businesses there is the new nuclear supply chain SME partnership, targeted at the new build market, which builds on the NDA’s existing SME programme. Government is helping industry improve its competitiveness through its support for the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Skills development is being supported through initiatives like Give2Gain, an employer-led scheme, co-ordinated through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear which will improve workforce skills and help drive up productivity and growth through

apprenticeships, work placements and improving STEM skills.

An elite nuclear college will be developed in consultation with industry to meet business needs, building on existing excellence in this area.

All of these activities must be closely aligned with academia to ensure industry takes advantage of the outstanding skills in science, technology and innovation within the UK and helps to deliver real economic benefit for UK-plc. The new Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board will play a key role in connecting R&D experts and industry technologists to provide a coherent and authoritative view about future research priorities.

Significant steps have been taken to consider how prepared UK industry is for the challenge of new build. We have also considered the breadth of ongoing projects, as well as those planned, for the decommissioning sector that takes place up and down the country.

This Council is a work in progress and we will continue to bring together industry, academia and Government over the next 12 months to learn how best to develop UK industry for the benefit of all.

Annual Dinner DECEMBER

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THURSDAY

DOORS

7 PM DINNER

8 PM

THE GREAT ROOM, GROSVENOR HOUSE HOTEL Tables - events@nuclearinst.com | Sponsorship - veronica.lekavicius@niauk.org

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ungeness B power station, situated on the Kent coastline, celebrated its 30th year of generation last year.

The site is currently scheduled to close in 2018, but EDF Energy will make a decision on whether to extend the operating life to 2028 in December 2014.

This would mean safeguarding 550 jobs and a continued £30 million into the local economy for a further decade.

Supporting the case for life extension, a number of improvement projects are taking place at the station. One of the larger projects is the £25 million planned for this year’s maintenance shutdown.

This three-yearly shutdown allows essential maintenance and inspection of the reactors and turbines. This huge project, totalling more than 12,000 tasks, sees on-site numbers double.

Dungeness B is also making improvements to its coastal flood defences, investing around £5 million.

The work began in 2013 and upgrades the existing flood defences to cover events that are extremely unlikely to occur in the UK – working on a probability of occurring ‘once in every 10,000 years’.

Following the events at Fukushima a thorough review of the UK’s nuclear industry by the then Chief Nuclear Inspector Dr Mike Weightman found that UK facilities had “no fundamental weaknesses.”

He made a number of recommendations to enhance safety and resilience. And EDF Energy started a £180 million plan at its eight nuclear power stations, Dungeness B’s works are part of that programme.

The station has always been safe against the kind of extreme weather conditions seen last winter, but EDF Energy wanted to ensure the station would be protected against events ‘beyond design basis’ – events almost unimaginable in the UK. The bank of shingle on the sea-facing side of station forms part of the flood defence. Last year the station undertook new modelling studies to see the effects on the shingle bank in front of the station during hypothetical weather conditions, more extreme than we have ever seen on the Kent coastline.

A scale model of the shingle bank was built and subjected to severe storm conditions. The results from this modelling

fed into a programme of improvement works which is now well underway.

A 1.5 m high concrete flood wall was completed in March. It spans 1.3km around the site and cost approximately £2.3 million. Other coastal flooding work includes sealing cable tunnels and shingle membrane fittings which are also complete.

The next phase of works is a rock armour wall behind the shingle bank, expected to be completed by winter 2014.

Rock armour is a widely used form of sea defence. Large boulders of 10 tonnes or more will be placed to the rear of the existing shingle bank.

During a severe storm the rock armour would act to stop shingle from moving further back and help to maintain a minimum height of the shingle bank ridge.

EDF Energy hopes to announce an extension to the operating life of Dungeness B later this year.

YOU CAN BOOK A VISIT TO THE SITE THROUGH DUNGENESSBTOURS@ EDF-ENERGY.COM OR CALL 01797 343 728

Investing in the future

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NIA launch new campaign FOLLOW US Keep up to date with re:generation activity. @re_genuk and facebook.com/ regenerationcampaign

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une 2014 sees the NIA launch re:generation, a campaign to increase the public understanding of nuclear power by utilising the sectors best ambassadors – it’s employees.

It aims to present a fresh image of the sector to help young people consider nuclear power as a career path, helping them understand the opportunities on offer, for graduates and apprentices alike. It will also engage with the wider public to improve perception of the industry, telling the whole story of nuclear power generation to build support and understanding.

The re:generation website has launched at www.regennuclear.com profiling some

of the impressive employees filmed and interviewed, telling their story about how they got into the sector so the outside world better understands what we do as an industry and what we can offer.

By hearing first-hand from those in the industry, the campaign will showcase an alternative career path many may not have considered. The website highlights facts and figures for those wanting to learn more also allowing the public to ask questions.

Following its online launch, the campaign will take to the road, with the first of four regional events due to take place this month. re:generation ambassadors will speak to students

in schools and colleges, as well as the wider public about the industry, why they chose their role and how much they enjoy it, as well as how industry works and the importance of it to the economy and low carbon power generation.

The re:generation campaign will also link in with the UK’s Women in Nuclear chapter to speak directly to an audience which can be largely sceptical about the sector. Changing people’s understanding and opinion is an ongoing industry concern, but by highlighting the long-term, high quality, interesting and challenging work on offer throughout the industry, together we can all make a difference.

providing : information on nuclear energy generation engaging : young people and women on issues relating to energy promoting : opportunities, jobs, skills and economic development supporting : the next generation in nuclear energy visiting : regional events across the UK

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Public support for Swiss station The people of the canton of Bern have rejected the immediate shutdown of the Mühleberg nuclear power station.

236,285 voters rejected the proposal to shut down the plant immediately with only 137,285 supporting the motion brought by a group of citizens.

The Swiss Nuclear Forum explained after the referendum that, “The clear vote shows that the population does not want a hasty and premature nuclear phase-out for political reasons. The Bernese have sent a clear message to the federal parliament.”

Nuclear power currently generates 40% of Switzerland’s electricity demands but the Government has decided not to replace any reactors before the end of their anticipated working lives.

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Japan and France affirm importance of nuclear power At a recent meeting, the French President and the Japanese Prime Minister declared their commitment to nuclear power generation. The two leaders explained they will aid cooperation on future reactor technology, while French and

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Japanese companies pursue commercial nuclear opportunities overseas.

National policy towards nuclear power has been wholly reviewed in Japan since the Fukushima Daiichi accident and it has been announced that it will remain an important energy source.

In France, a consultation has been completed on a future ‘energy transition’ which is likely to result in an increase in renewable energy. However following a period of some uncertainly over the future of nuclear power in the country, Francois Hollande has announced, “nuclear energy will remain important for us in the future… we are committed to Generation IV nuclear reactors.”

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Floridian AP1000 reactors approved The construction of two new reactors at Turkey Point has been granted by the Government of Florida, bringing to conclusion the state approval process that included an eight week hearing in 2013 after five years of public engagement with key stakeholders.

Florida Power and Light (FPL) has plans to add two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at the site which already houses two nuclear reactors, two gasfired stations and an oil-fired unit.

FPL Vice President, Mike Kiley has explained that, “The new reactors (will) generate enough electricity to power

750,000 homes,” in addition “these new units will save (FPL customers) more than $170 billion in fossil fuel costs over 60 years of operation.”

The next step for FPL is to receive a construction and operating licence for the new units from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Once these permissions have been secured, FPL hope to be generating electricity from the first new reactor in 2022.

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Daiichi fuel assembles successfully relocated Over half of the fuel assemblies from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 have been moved to a central storage pool on the site with the remaining assemblies on track to be transferred before the end of the year.

The project began in November 2013 and Tokyo Electric Power Company has now relocated 792 used fuel assemblies and 22 unused ones.

Unit 4 was off line for maintenance at the time of the 2011 accident with its full core load of fuel, as well as used fuel from previous operation, stored in a fuel pool at the top of the reactor building.

The transportation process will be repeated until the fuel pool is empty.

Two containers are being used in relay and so far 37 cask transportations from Unit 4 to the central storage pool have been made.

For more details on these and other stories please visit www.world-nuclear-news.org

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Diversity and Inclusion A diverse and inclusive workplace is essential for both creativity and productivity but this is often overlooked by employers and hiring managers.

BY. NICOLA MASON ⁄ AMEC

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icola Mason, AMEC’s Engineering Director for Europe explains how AMEC is making real strides towards recruitment of employees from the widest of sources.

Whether it’s through the company’s expanding graduate recruitment schemes or its continuing search for the brightest talent across all sectors, AMEC’s drive towards recruiting the best talent is gathering momentum.

For a global engineering company that employs around 27,000 people this is no mean task but led from the top by Chief Executive Samir Brikho, global initiatives are starting to pay dividends.

None more so than in AMEC’s Clean Energy (CE) Europe business, where recruitment of talent is required to meet the growing demands of the nuclear sector. A significant increase in capability is required over the next decade providing a major challenge for UK supply chain companies.

In addition to the current requirements for the running and maintaining of Britain’s operational fleet of power stations, there will be increasing demands for the decommissioning of older reactors. At the same time there is a need to support the design, build and commissioning of planned new nuclear reactors.

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CURRENT PROPORTION OF UK FEMALE STEM WORKFORCE CURRENT PROPORTION OF UK FEMALE ENGINEERING GRADUATES

A major part of AMEC’s CE strategy for diversity is to target an increase in the number of women taking up technical roles within the business and – if the current statistics are used as a marker – there is much work to do: “This is something that needs to be addressed,” said Dawn James, CE’s Vice President of Business Change, “and a part of our diversity and inclusion policy is to raise our already comprehensive efforts to attract more women graduates into our business, not just for our benefit, but society as a whole.”

Clive White, President of CE Europe said the company is committed to promoting an increase in the number of women in technical roles across the company and added: “Building on the initiatives we already have in place, we are confident

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that our name is synonymous with providing opportunities for women who aspire to develop a career across the engineering sector.”

As part of the events surrounding the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Engineering Society, AMEC’s 15 major offices in the UK will double the numbers of STEM ambassadors visiting schools from 75 to 150 by the end of this year. These visits will target students from primary schools through to sixth form and the company will also increase its STEM activities within universities.

Dawn James added: “Around 25% of AMEC STEM visits are currently undertaken by women. By working with our graduate population we pledge to increase this number to 50%.

“Of course we realise there is no quick fix to attracting more women into engineering and science, but it is something we feel strongly about in AMEC and even though attracting more women into engineering and science is just one part of our diversity and inclusion policy across the company, we are determined to make a real difference.”

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As part of AMEC’s diverse recruitment drive the company has launched CE Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), which aims to increase the number of women in the AMEC CE workforce and in the wider industry. This campaign is being led

by Tina Bowen, Capability Manager for the Reactor Services business within Clean Energy.

Tina explained: “WISE is a national campaign promoting female talent in STEM from classroom to boardroom.

Our mission in CE WISE is to positively influence women and girls in science and engineering through participation in schools outreach programmes and events such as The Big Bang, to influence AMEC’s culture such that women can develop to their full potential and play a full role to support national campaigns such as WISE. “Research shows that positive role models are of vital importance in changing the perception of young girls and encouraging them to consider a career in STEM subjects. We can all play our part, whether that is talking

“Within AMEC Clean Energy in Europe, we recruit around 100 graduates a year across the company from a wide range of disciplines. We have close links with a number of Universities, including Manchester University’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, a partnership which was announced last year. The partnership will see both parties working collaboratively to create a global centre of excellence for reactor engineering and nuclear skills in the North West.

“There are many benefits in extending what is already established as a highly successful partnership.

Through academia and industry joining together, in support of the UK’s Nuclear Industry Strategy, the UK will effectively export its nuclear skills and capabilities into the international marketplace.

“Growing the skills for the future has become part of AMEC’s daily business.”

All images courtesy of AMEC - — www.amec.com

to our own daughters, nieces and friends’ children – help them to understand what STEM is and how choosing a career in these fields can be extremely rewarding and interesting.”

Tina is also involved in the executive committee of the UK’s Women in Nuclear (WiN) chapter launched by the industry at the end of last year, and is keen to stress that, while WiN UK is focussed on attracting women into the industry, it is part of a wider strategy to increase capability across the nuclear sector.

Tina evaluates the importance of attracting young talent to the nuclear industry: “We believe it is vital young talent is encouraged to consider engineering as a career for the longterm benefit of the industry. Across the company, AMEC is increasing its talent programmes. We are expanding our graduate and apprenticeship training programmes and introducing re-training schemes to develop available talent from other business sectors.

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Recognising the industry stars of tomorrow

“WINNING THIS AWARD IS A GREAT START TO MY CAREER, I HOPE THAT THIS ACHIEVEMENT WILL FURTHER INSPIRE OTHERS TO PURSUE A CAREER WITHIN THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY AND ENGINEERING.”

In March the great and the good of the UK’s nuclear industry gathered together in Manchester for the annual UK Nuclear Skills Awards.

Now into its sixth year, the event jointly organised by the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and Cogent attracted over 450 members of the industry including nuclear employees, employers, training providers and important stakeholders.

Hosted by Olympic silver medallist, Roger Black MBE, the main award of the evening, the UK Nuclear Apprentice of the Year was won by Natalie Baines, currently working as a Mechanical Designer at Nuvia Ltd.

NATALIE BAINES UK NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR 2014

“These Awards are now a fiercely competitive process, and the volume and quality of applications demonstrates the commitment the nuclear industry has in investing in future talent. The award winners are taking away a prestigious accolade, as well as recognition from their peers they are achieving excellence in skills.”

“The UK Nuclear Skills Award highlights the exceptional quality of people of all levels, who are committed to careers in the nuclear industry. Apprenticeships, Foundation Degrees/Higher National Diplomas and Degrees are key avenues for replenishing and building skills for the nuclear sector. It is extremely important to highlight the real and tangible contributions which these people make to their organisations on a daily basis.”

Jean Llewellyn OBE National Skills Academy Nuclear

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All images courtesy of Allen Markey Photography - allen@amphotog.co.uk

Joanna Woolf Cogent Sector Skills Council

We are…

A new name, with a 50 year nuclear heritage We are the UK’s largest UK site management, engineering and support services organisation with a 50 year nuclear heritage, we offer unsurpassed depth of experience and breadth of technical expertise spanning the full nuclear lifecycle, from design and build, through operation and maintenance, to decommissioning and remediation. We have amalgamated and integrated the nuclear capabilities and expertise from major players including BNS, UKAEA Ltd and VT Group. We manage five nuclear licensed sites in the UK (including Dounreay, Harwell and Winfrith as a parent body organisation). With a workforce of some 3,500 skilled employees, we have an unrivalled SQEP resource covering a diverse range of science, management and engineering disciplines, and a total commitment to safety (reinforced through excellent safety management skills), quality and delivery. We have successfully undertaken some of the industry’s toughest challenges.

We are… Cavendish Nuclear. www.cavendishnuclear.com

A wholly owned subsidiary of the Babcock International Group 2014 | SUMMER — 11

The Big Bang Fair T

he Big Bang Fair, held annually in March, saw over 200 organisation from all sectors come together in Birmingham to highlight the exciting possibilities that exist for young people with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) backgrounds.

Aimed primarily at 7-19 year-olds this year’s fair was attended by over 75,000 visitors.

As the largest celebration of STEM for young people in the UK, The Big Bang Fair is a fantastic opportunity for the nuclear industry to showcase its work and the vast amount of rewarding opportunities available to young people with the right experience and qualifications.

URENCO, The Nuclear Institute, Sellafield and Dalton Nuclear Institute were some of companies from the nuclear industry exhibiting at the fair.

These companies used the show to bring science and engineering to life.

Their interactive stands allowed visitors to play computer games, use simulators and learn about smart robots.

URENCO took the opportunity to introduce visitors to Richie, their science ambassador. Displaying their ‘Learn with Richie’ website on large interactive screens they were able to increase awareness of this learning tool, connecting with students and teachers alike about energy topics in an engaging and inspirational way. URENCO reported 7,500 visitors had played the ‘Richie’s World of Adventure’ game. Hits to their website increased by 400%.

Dalton Nuclear Institute took the opportunity to showcase a virtual nuclear reactor simulator and smart robots. A team of its nuclear energy PhD students and electronics engineers introduced visitors to prototypes of smart robots that can assist with the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The Dalton team also showcased its newly improved nuclear reactor simulator game which teaches the player how to operate a modern reactor.

The Nuclear Institute hosted an exciting and interactive stand with a nuclear reactor simulator and robots, demonstrating the work nuclear scientists and engineers carry out every day.

Sellafield graduate and apprentice trainees Sarah Wilson and Tulia Hellyn met Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills at the fair. They discussed the experience women had of working in the industry, whilst also discussing the opportunities available to young people across the nuclear sector.

Sarah said: “Dr Cable was really interested to learn about what Sellafield Ltd is doing to meet the skills demand required for the future, particularly in science and engineering.

“We also talked about how we can inspire young women to pursue subjects and careers in STEM. Dr Cable was impressed that one in four apprentices at Sellafield Ltd are female and he stressed the importance of ambassadors in promoting STEM to young females.”

Not only does The Big Bang Fair offer insight into the opportunities provided to people with STEM backgrounds, it allows visitors to engage with the work taking place. Furthermore, it also hosts The National Science and Engineering Competition, which aims to recognise and reward young people’s achievements in all areas of STEM. Entry is now open for 2014-2015, as are sponsorship opportunities for The Big Bang Fair 2015 at www.thebigbangfair.co.uk.

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“ The Big Bang Fair enables URENCO to interact with young people throughout the country; to nurture an interest in science from primary school level to post graduate, and at the same time provide an understanding of the benefits of a balanced energy mix.

We have had very positive feedback from students and teachers who visited our stand, which is demonstrated by the huge amount of interest we received in the Richie educational programme. We look forward to further enhancing our work in this area through our new partnership with the British Science Association and the CREST Star awards.”

Jayne Hallett Urenco

“IT’S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO BRING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING TO LIFE AND INSPIRE AND INFORM YOUNG VISITORS TO OUR STAND ABOUT THE WORK WE DO, HOW IT BENEFITS SOCIETY AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE CAREERS IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR ENERGY.” VICKY PLANE DALTON NUCLEAR INSTITUTE

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IN VIEW

ITER Fusion Reactor

© ITER Organization — www.iter.org

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor or ITER is the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor. The project is funded and run by seven members — the European Union, India, Japan, People's Republic of China, Russia, South Korea and the United States. These countries represent 50% of the world’s population and control 80% of the world’s GDP. Atkins, as part of the Engage consortium, has signed one of the biggest Architect Engineering contracts in Europe with Fusion for Energy (F4E) on the ITER project.

As Architect Engineer, the consortium will assist F4E during the entire construction process, from detailed design to works completion for the ITER buildings as well as the site infrastructures and distribution of the power supplies. At the peak of the design activity, more than 230 engineers and designers will work on the contract.

The geometric design of the Tokamak Building rebar— formed from circles and lines—gets dizzying if you look at it long enough. When these superimposed layers of rebar are all in place, workers will install metal "chairs" that will raise the height of the reinforcement to 1.5 metres.

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HPC State Aid Tests BY. CAROL CLOUGHLEY ⁄ BIRD & BIRD

As European elections loom and the European Commission considers whether the Contract for Difference (CfD) between the UK Government and NNB Generation amounts to state aid, and if so whether aid can be justified on the basis that it is deployed to meet European “common objectives”, new nuclear has become a political hot potato.

If the Government is successful in making its case that the proposed measures do not contravene EU state aid rules, we will see a clutch of Ministers (I am sure there are other collective nouns) beaming from the banks of the Bristol Channel, should it fail it will be fuel to the UKIP fire.

We all know how the CfD works and the Strike Price is set, however what test is the Commission applying when assessing whether the CfD gives rise to state aid issues?

DOES THE CFD CONSTITUTE STATE AID? To answer this question the 'Altmark' criteria are applied:

IS THE RECIPIENT OF AID UNDERTAKING PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS? Yes, if you consider no one else can deliver a plant to generate by 2023.

No, if you believe that 2023 has no significance as Ofgem forecasts capacity levels to be low by 2020 and DECC's own forecasts indicate private investors are likely to invest by 2030 in any event.

Yes, if public service is NNB Generation paying where the reference price exceeds the Strike Price.

No, if this is simply a limitation on state aid, which does not amount to a public service.

Yes, if for the duration of the CfD all electricity from HPC will be subject to the difference payment mechanism, NNB Generation will not be able to sell electricity outside the CfD. No, if you consider this a commercial arrangement which the UK Government cannot enforce, other than to terminate the CfD.

ARE PARAMETERS FOR COMPENSATION CLEARLY ESTABLISHED IN ADVANCE AND TRANSPARENT? To be decided, they are still under negotiation. Provided they are established in the final CfD this condition could be fulfilled.

NO OVER COMPENSATION. This is the most debated point: is there any subsidy? What distinguishes HPC from Flamanville and Olkiluoto? The level of the Strike Price and how this balances against the 35 year duration (which does not take into account the 60 year life of the plant).

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WHERE NO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SELECTION PROCESS IS USED ANALYSIS OF COSTS AND PROFIT TO ENSURE VALUE? This is very much a question of fact and assessment against a well run undertaking discharging the same obligations, taking into account relevant profit. The UK Government's argument is strong, the difficulty is to find a comparator where there is no similar plant in operation.

IF THE CFD CONSTITUTES STATE AID, IS IT AIMED AT 'COMMON OBJECTIVES'?

The UK's case is based on three common EU objectives, these are: Decarbonisation ─ It is hard to measure against this objective as decarbonisation objectives for the UK electricity sector will not be set until 2016, however it is strongly arguable that the CfD will achieve decarbonisation at a much faster pace than would otherwise be the case.

The Commission also consider the trade off between two competing EU objectives, namely preserving the environment through pursuit of low carbon generation while potentially increasing risks to the environment through use of nuclear technology.

Security of supply ─ This is a less controversial argument with the European Court recognising that security of energy supply is an overriding public interest objective.

The UK Government has examined how interconnection could support security of supply however it is acknowledged that interconnection to mainland Europe, even where capacity could be constructed more cheaply, is expensive when interconnection costs are taken into account.

Diversity of generation ─ This is a facet of security of supply as it contributes to Member States' resilience and ability to withstand external shocks. The UK invests heavily in renewables however considers that for the most part these generate intermittently, when the wind blows or the sun shines, and new technologies such as CCS and wave and tidal stream are not sufficiently proven. While all have a role to play in a diverse carbon energy mix, they cannot be a direct substitute for baseload generation such as that provided through nuclear generation.

Whilst the Commission's Opening Decision raises a number of concerns, the UK Government has put a strong case, as has the industry in response to the Consultation.

Now we hold our breath!

And while we do, we ask ─ what is Plan B? As the Olympic Committee considers its options should Rio fail to deliver (being only 10% into its programme, when at the equivalent point Athens was 40% and London 60%), what is our Government considering should it not get the response it seeks? At recent NIA events the question has been posed, Paxman style, repeatedly and in many forms, however the Howardesque response has been non-committal ─ so let us hope Plan A comes good!

IHS PRODUCT DESIGN

Bridge your organization’s engineering knowledge gap with a technical knowledge management solution from IHS “Every year until 2025, 5% of the Engineers within the UK Nuclear Industry today are expected to retire” - Decom12, Manchester June 2012 If your company is like most involved in the nuclear industry, it is facing a looming engineering knowledge gap. As the first generation of nuclear engineers retires, the knowledge those engineers have in their heads – gained from decades of industry experience – will not be easily replaced. The next generation of engineers just entering the industry will need time to catch up. But with plans to bring new reactors on line for the first time in 30 years, they don’t have much time.

The Solution: A comprehensive technical management solution from IHS, specifically tailored for the needs of the nuclear industry, combining authoritative content with powerful technology tools to ensure your engineers can bridge the knowledge gap – and make better, more informed decisions – no matter how big the decision.

Find out more by emailing emea_marketing@ihs.com 2014 | SUMMER — 17 5474_0514AA

SNAPSHOT

The Women in Nuclear Executive Board

CLYDEUNION Pumps rebranded ClydeUnion Pumps was acquired by the SPX Corporation in December 2011, to support its growth in the power and energy markets, including nuclear.

It was recently announced that the ClydeUnion branding at the NIA would be replaced by SPX Power & Energy, so as to incorporate its nuclear brands portfolio. As a global company, SPX manufactures critical components for the nuclear power industry and ensures high quality, responsive, on-the-ground support is available around the world throughout the plant’s lifetime, through key brands such as ClydeUnion Pumps, CopesVulcan, Balcke-Dürr, Cooling Technologies, Johnson Pump, APV, amongst others.

SPX manufacture highly specialised, engineered products and technologies which are concentrated in flow technology and energy infrastructure – vital products for the new build market.

SPX brands’ involvement in the nuclear power market began in the 1950’s, with the first ever industrial scale nuclear power plant at Calder Hall in the UK and continues with installations across all of the globe’s major nuclear programmes.

SPX offers a comprehensive range of Class 1, 2 and 3 products, on top of a wide conventional island product offering designed for the highest levels of safety and reliability as demanded by the nuclear industry.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX Corporation is a global Fortune 500 multi-industry manufacturing leader with approximately $5 billion in annual revenue, operations in more than 35 countries and over 14,000 employees.

18 — SUMMER | 2014

It’s been an exciting first six months for the UK Chapter of Women in Nuclear (WiN). Miranda Kirschel and Becca Holyhead have been appointed as Co-Presidents and are working hard to make sure all in the industry know about the group.

An executive board has been formed which has a good cross industry representation as well as women from associations and government. In this inaugural year, we want as many women from the industry to join the membership to have a say on the things that matter to them. We also plan to reach out to women in the industry to actively find out what they want from WiN UK. The executive board meets monthly and is currently working on a strategy to meet our objectives which we hope to have finalised in the coming months. Building on these objectives, we will work with the Nuclear Industry Council’s communications group as well as the the NIA’s re:generation campaign to encourage more women and younger people into the industry while informing the public about the sector.

A wider energy industry women’s group, POWERful Women has approached us to be a partner organisation. Its members cover all parts of the energy sector, not just nuclear, and Baroness Verma is a founding member. Its objectives, to showcase female talent, deliver a cultural change in the energy sector, promote diversity and build trust with customers, align very closely with WiN. The word about the Chapter is spreading and we have also been approached to support Your Life, a new initiative to promote STEM subjects to young people. It is driven by the Cabinet Office Policy Unit, and WiN UK, along with companies in the industry, have signed up to its pledge to encourage more women into STEM subjects and careers. We attended the launch at London’s Science Museum, and spoke to Liz Truss MP about our objectives for the group.

We have two events scheduled for June to bring together women from across the industry. The first will be held in Parliament on 23 June and the second in Warrington as part of the International Festival for Business on 25 June. The two events will focus on raising awareness that WiN UK has been established; to discuss its objectives; and to explore the initiatives that will change the face of the nuclear industry, and how Government and industry can work together to deliver them.

Finally, our website is currently under construction www.womeninnuclear.org.uk where we will post regular news updates and events listings. To join email membership@womeninnuclear.org.uk

2014 | SUMMER — 19

Progress at Sellafield T

wo important milestones have been reached in the decommissioning of the Sellafield site; 100 tonnes of contaminated redundant equipment has been removed from Europe’s oldest nuclear site and 100 on site buildings having been demolished since 2007.

Sellafield plays host to the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP), a 60 year old fuel storage pond which is one of the oldest in Europe and the largest open air nuclear storage pond in the world, holding 750 tonnes of contaminated waste metal; 100 tonnes of which has been safely removed.

Derek Carlisle, PFSP head of projects said: “Sometimes it’s difficult to appreciate the decommissioning progress being made, because by the very nature of what we are doing things can take a long time and seem to cost a lot of money.

“However, when you think about 100 tonnes of equipment – the size of a blue whale or a Boeing 757 – it really does give you some scale as to the difficulty in removing that much mass from the biggest, and one of the oldest, nuclear storage ponds in the world.”

Highlights in the retrieval programme to date include: →→Removal of the very last remaining pile fuel decanner, weighing in at over one tonne. →→Recovery of two tall tools or masts – similar in height to an average two-storey house – lifted from the pond and size reduced in situ.

→→Eight of the 30 waste and transport flasks recovered each weighing two-three tonnes. →→Stripping out and export of redundant metal structures above and below the water line in the pond bays.

The demolition of 100 buildings is equally important for the programme. Since 2007 Sellafield has seen the demolition of a diverse range of facilities from legacy chemical plants, R&D facilities, waste stores, reactor cooling towers, right through to portacabins and even the original fire station.

So far demolition has released over 35,000 square metres of real estate, the equivalent of five football fields; allowing for necessary space needed to help retrieve, process and re-package historic nuclear waste, making it safer for long term storage and disposal.

The most dramatic project so far being the explosive demolition of the four 88 metre high concrete cooling towers associated with the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, which ceased electricity generation in March 2003.

The extra space, created through this demolition process is necessary to fuel Sellafield’s continued decommissioning programme; it is being used to help retrieve, process and re-package historic nuclear waste to make it safe for long term storage and disposal, which in turn will help complete the decommissioning of this site.

“WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT 100 TONNES OF EQUIPMENT – THE SIZE OF A BLUE WHALE OR A BOEING 757 – IT REALLY DOES GIVE YOU SOME SCALE AS TO THE DIFFICULTY IN REMOVING THAT MUCH MASS FROM THE BIGGEST, AND ONE OF THE OLDEST, NUCLEAR STORAGE PONDS IN THE WORLD” DEREK CARLISLE PFSP HEAD OF PROJECTS

20 — SUMMER | 2014

Energy Security Moves up the Agenda TODAY, THE EU IMPORTS 53% OF THE ENERGY IT CONSUMES. ENERGY IMPORT DEPENDENCY RELATES TO CRUDE OIL (ALMOST 90%), TO NATURAL GAS (66%), AND TO A LESSER EXTENT TO SOLID FUELS (42%) AS WELL AS NUCLEAR FUEL (40%) EU ENERGY SECURITY HAS ALSO TO BE SEEN IN THE CONTEXT OF GROWING ENERGY DEMAND WORLDWIDE, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY 27% BY 2030

SIX MEMBER STATES DEPEND ON RUSSIA AS SINGLE EXTERNAL SUPPLIER FOR THEIR ENTIRE GAS IMPORTS AND THREE OF THEM USE NATURAL GAS FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF THEIR TOTAL ENERGY NEEDS.

THE EU EXTERNAL ENERGY BILL REPRESENTS MORE THAN €1 BILLION PER DAY (AROUND €400 BILLION IN 2013) AND MORE THAN A FIFTH OF TOTAL EU IMPORTS

£

£

£

2013 ENERGY SUPPLIES FROM RUSSIA ACCOUNTED FOR 39% OF EU NATURAL GAS IMPORTS OR 27% OF EU GAS CONSUMPTION; RUSSIA EXPORTED 71 % OF ITS GAS TO EUROPE WITH THE LARGEST VOLUMES TO GERMANY AND ITALY

The European Commission has published a communication outlining its recommendations for the establishment of a European Energy Security Strategy. Central to that strategy is the urgent need for the EU to increase its indigenous energy production, reduce its dependence upon external suppliers, and encourage diversity in the energy mix in order to meet its energy needs.

A study on the status of energy security across the EU has been released to the heads of EU governments and will form the basis for discussions in June. The document calls for a common European energy policy to be developed and for the EU to communicate on energy with 'one voice'. It also suggests the EC observe major fuel import deals made by one member state that could affect another.

Russia supplies 39% of the EU's gas and over 30% of its oil meaning the heightened tensions in Ukraine have exacerbated the concern over the provision of energy to the EU. The communication recommends that the EU increase the use of both nuclear power and renewables sources as well as the production of fossil fuels where it can be done sustainably.

Across Europe 131 reactors operate in 16 countries and these were noted as a reliable source for 27% of electricity.

Nuclear past, present, future Atkins has been at the forefront of engineering in the nuclear industry for more than 50 years. From our role on one of the first generation of nuclear reactors in Britain, to our current work in exploring options for safe, limitless and environmentally responsible energy sources, our teams have applied their expertise in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

• Decommissioning • Defence • Generation • New build For more information and current opportunities, visit: www.atkinsglobal.com/nuclear

2014 | SUMMER — 21

SMALL NUCLEAR POWER — BIG OPPORTUNITIY? 22 — SUMMER | 2014

In early March the Energy and Climate Change Committee announced an inquiry into ‘Small Nuclear Power’ inviting stakeholders, including the NIA, to submit written responses to key questions and main themes of interest, specifically the future development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as part of a future energy mix.

The Committee is a cross-party group, chaired by Tim Yeo MP, comprising 11 MPs appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and its associated bodies.

Determining its own subjects of inquiry, it is able to thoroughly scrutinise the Government’s current policies and ongoing work on Energy and Climate Change. The committee has the ability to call on witnesses and issue specific invitations for written evidence. A single inquiry can last several months, giving rise to a report within the House; or for one day where oral evidence is presented.

This latest inquiry on small nuclear power is encouraging; it shows the Government’s recognition and understanding that the UK’s requirements for nuclear power may exceed current plans for new build, perhaps substantially. As well as being important for the future of the industry it is also in the nation’s interest to keep a wide range of technology options open, to meet potential demand.

The International Atomic Energy Agency defines the amount of power produced by SMRs as ‘small’ under 300 MW, and up to 700 MW as ‘medium’, yet this also includes radically different technologies.

The prerequisite for deploying SMRs is the same as all new nuclear projects in the UK; they should be financially and economically competitive, meeting all the relevant safety and environmental requirements.

A prospective developer would therefore need to be convinced a design was viable both from an economic and regulatory perspective. However, like all other projects SMRs have their own barriers to contend with — including Regulatory Justification, Generic Design Assessment and planning requirement. Planning could prove to be extremely sensitive, in terms of public acceptance, if siting involved greenfield sites close to population centres.

A key challenge would be to ensure the development of any small reactors are economically competitive. Industry and Government identified SMRs as providing potential industrial and commercial opportunities, and will continue to monitor developments relating to small reactors. One possible way of incentivising a UK small reactor industry could be to provide Government funding to allow UK

The Twittersphere

participation in specific pilot projects. If successful, this could ultimately provide opportunities for the UK supply chain, and further increase investor confidence in the industry.

The Chair of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB), set up by Government in 2012 to advise Ministers, government departments and agencies on the priorities for UK nuclear R&D and innovation, led a workshop in December which found ‘there was a lack of evidence in order to inform a robust investment case in this area’, but recommended further work should be conducted.

A study is now being undertaken by a small consortium led by the National Nuclear Laboratory with a view to putting recommendations to NIRAB and Ministers in June.

Furthermore, several US developers are reducing spend on SMRs in the face of weak investor interest and utility company demand. It has been suggested the UK Government could consider collaboration with the US Government and other interested nuclear nations to maximise progress. This could involve a work programme focussing on key areas such as potential deployment of SMRs for critical national infrastructure power generation and faster track routes to regulatory design certification.

The main opportunities, in the shorter term, for small nuclear power development may be overseas, in countries with smaller electricity grids where demand is less; or with smaller economies that would make the financing of larger scale nuclear plants more difficult.

The UK operates a competitive market and it is ultimately up to developers to decide what technology to adopt. Therefore the Government is right to maintain a watching brief on technologies, such as small nuclear power, which could have the potential to benefit the UK in the longer term.

However, it is extremely important we do not lose sight of our primary focus and immediate priority – the new build programme and ensuring the EU Commission agrees State Aid approval for Hinkley Point C. It is very important we see new build succeed, which will help the public perception and confidence in nuclear power continue to increase.

RACHEL DOWLING Public Affairs Executive rachel.dowling@niauk.org

Social media is now a key feature in communications strategy and has been an excellent tool for the NIA over the past few years. We use it to connect with industry and important stakeholders; promoting members achievements, industry events, national and international nuclear news stories and much more.

However, one of the key challenges with communicating a niche and very often technical subject on Twitter is how to generate interest and connect with those outside of industry in 140 characters. To overcome this hurdle we are making a conscious effort to utilise images, videos and web links to increase the outreach of our tweets.

For example, the NIA nuclear timeline which featured in the winter 2013 edition of Industry Link visualises the UK’s history in the sector in a much more engaging way than a block of text. The fact sheets on sources and uses of radiation use images and text to provide a clear overview of how radiation is very much a part of our daily lives and hopefully dispel some myths along the way.

The re:generation Twitter Who to follow? account and Facebook page Want information on nuclear went live at the end of May and other relevant topics? and it will continue with this This issue we recommend you objective to use images, follow: videos and web links to help communicate the industry.

You can follow the campaign @re_genuk at www.facebook.com/re@SelLtdcareers generationcampaign and @Stemettes @re_genuk. re:generation has already posted a number @cogentssc of images and career profiles @NI_YGN that showcase employment opportunities in the sector and watch out for many more interesting tweets and posts over the course of the year.

@NIAUK

@mowat4ws: how #nuclear can create jobs for #warrington http:// bit.ly/1uhs0xp

@ProfBrianCox : "#Nuclear is the best sustainable form of #energy" http:// bit.ly/1m9SGtF Twitter Count Followers: 1,819 Tweets: 1,779

2014 | SUMMER — 23

NEWS IN BRIEF

Radioactive Waste Management appoints Ann McCall as Waste Management Director Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM) - the NDA’s new wholly owned subsidiary, has announced the appointment of Ann McCall to the new post of Waste Management Director.

The role is key in the organisation’s work with waste producers in developing new and innovative ways to reduce the volume of radioactive waste and ensuring it is suitably packaged for eventual geological disposal.

“I’m delighted to be joining Radioactive Waste Management Limited at such as important time.

I’m looking forward to working with waste producers to find solutions to deal with the country’s legacy waste in the short term; whilst also ensuring there are plans in place for its final disposal.

“It is vital that RWM, the regulators and waste producers have the very best plans in place to package the country’s radioactive waste safely and securely.”

Ann McCall “The creation of our new organisation and Ann’s appointment underlines our commitment to geological disposal and developing waste packaging solutions – it ensures we are appropriately set up to achieve these goals. Ann has more than 30 years of nuclear waste management and disposal experience and is a welcome addition to our Executive Team.”

Bruce McKirdy Managing Director, RWM

“ Our engineers and scientists are leading the field in developing and applying innovative technology and techniques to decommission Sellafield”.

All change for the Sellafield skyline 24 — SUMMER | 2014

Work to decommission the filter gallery atop the last remaining Sellafield chimney has reached the half-way point.

Installed at the insistence of Nobel prizewinning physicist John Cockcroft, the 530 tonne filter gallery prevented much of the radioactive contamination escaping when Windscale Pile One caught fire in 1957.

Sellafield Ltd has estimated that 172 tonnes or steelwork, 66 tonnes of brick and 150 tonnes of concrete has been dismantled.

The success of the programme thus far suggests that the filter gallery will be brought down in full in October this year.

The next phase will be to remove the diffuser which sits underneath the filter gallery. In 2015 work will be carried out to build a tower crane next to the chimney and the 1,400 tonne concrete diffuser box will be cut up and lowered down in seven tonne parts. This methodology is set to improve the efficiency of the demolition by over 700%.

Following this the full chimney which stands at 110 metres tall and consists of over 5,000 tonnes of material is to be removed and brought to ground level by 2017-18.

Sheffield Forgemasters approved for new nuclear work Sheffield Forgemasters has passed a very testing final audit towards ASME NPT (Nuclear Partials) status to become one of the few UK companies able to fabricate safety critical cast components within nuclear power stations.

As a result of the audit, Sheffield Forgemasters (SFIL) will await an accreditation certificate which signals the green light to take on a whole new strand of civil nuclear manufacture, complementing its status as an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) certified Nuclear Materials Organisation.

SFIL’s NPT status will enable the company to weld-fabricate the components it currently supplies as a Nuclear Materials Organisation – a part of the nuclear assembly process that few organisations can undertake and one with significant challenges posed by weld-joining different materials.

The ASME code is the most comprehensive series of guidelines for civil nuclear manufacture in the world and all other codes, including the French RCC-M code, operate to similar compliance requirements. SFIL has held its Nuclear Materials Organisation status since 1992.

SFIL will now continue its work on manufacturing major nuclear island forging components for the UK’s nuclear submarine programme and projects for civil nuclear power plants as far away as China.

US Department of Energy NuScale Funding In December 2013 the US Government awarded NuScale the second and final contract in its Small Medium Reactor (SMR) funding programme.

The US’s Department of Energy has designated $452 million for this programme, with companies matching the funding they’re allocated through their own and industrial partners’ investments - Babcock & Wilcox were the first company to be awarded the funding in 2012.

In May, the US Government finalised its funding deal with NuScale confirming $217 million over the next five years, which will go towards technical support for SMR licensing.

NuScale will match this funding and use it to perform engineering and testing required to proceed through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s design certification process; it expects to submit its application for this in the second half of 2016, with 2023 set as the date for commercial operation.

This project will take place in Idaho, in partnership with Energy Northwest and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. NuScale’s SMR is a 45MWe self-contained pressurised water reactor and generator set – like all modular reactors it will be built in a factory and shipped to the site. NuScale will deploy 12 SMRs to the site to make scalable nuclear power plants. Using conventional fuel assemblies, the core would be cooled by natural circulation, requiring fewer components and safety systems than conventional reactors.

The US Government’s programme is one of many SMR projects being developed around the world. In the UK, Parliament’s own Energy and Climate Change Committee has recently called for an inquiry into SMRs, with evidence currently being collected [p22].

Hunterston A Chapelcross

Wylfa Trawsfynydd

Sizewell A Harwell

Berkeley Hinkley Point A

Bradwell

Oldbury Dungeness A Winfrith

Cavendish Fluor set to manage 12 nuclear sites At the end of March 2014, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced the Cavendish Fluor Partnership (a joint venture between Cavendish Nuclear and Fluor Corporation) had been selected as the preferred bidder for the ownership of Magnox Ltd and Research Site Restoration Ltd (RSRL).

Following the announcement a five month transition phase has begun for all parties involved to finalise the process and undertake a handover period from existing management. The formal awarding of the contract is planned for 1 September 2014.

After this transition period, Cavendish Fluor Partnership will be become the Parent Body Organisation of Magnox Ltd and RSRL, the site licence companies for the decommissioning activities of 12 nuclear sites.

The contract is anticipated to provide saving in excess of £1 billion and Roger Hardy, Cavendish Nuclear’s Managing Director, expressed his delight after the award of the contract: “Being selected as preferred bidder is a fantastic achievement. The Cavendish Fluor Partnership brings together outstanding international decommissioning, operational and site management expertise and we look forward to working with the Magnox and RSRL teams to deliver the sites’ programmes safely and cost effectively.”

Nuclear Industry Association Chief Executive, Keith Parker commented: “It is crucial that as an industry we ensure the decommissioning process is dealt with safely, securely and cost-effectively. We at the NIA look forward to working with the Cavendish Fluor Partnership to guarantee that we maintain the standards industry has set since the private sector were brought in to deal with these varies and complex decommissioning challenges.”

2014 | SUMMER — 25

Export potential for lessons learned in the UK in decommissioning

T

he UK nuclear decommissioning sector has had a busy decade. Since the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), it has run a programme of competitions – for the Sellafield, LLWR, Dounreay and Magnox/RSRL sites – to procure the next generation of decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's nuclear legacy.

The market has seen significant change. The experience of NDA and its contractors – throughout the supply chain – provides useful lessons. Some are peculiar to the nuclear sector; others are simply lessons in good contracting – all are universally applicable.

Scope Central to success is a clear understanding from the outset by the purchaser of its requirement. This can be clarified and fine-tuned as the procurement progresses, but it is a common mistake to think negotiations can be used to cure a poorly defined requirement.

A clear requirement is essential to contract delivery. Not only is it fundamental to identifying deliverables, it is integral to managing performance and measuring success.

A clear requirement is equally important to achieving value for money. In bidding, a poorly defined requirement will inflate the price as contractors price in uncertainty; during the contract it leads to increased costs through contract change.

Further, a clear requirement enables an informed negotiation on the appropriate risk allocation, where both sides have a common understanding of the risks being accepted and the impact on price.

Contract Structure Recently the sector has witnessed a move from purely costplus contracts to target cost incentive fee arrangements (TCIF).

This is a product of a maturing market. More participants have entered the market, a better understanding exists of the risks involved and contractors' appetite for risk has increased.

This is welcome. It provides more options to purchasers and greater opportunities to exploit market innovation. However, TCIF and other risk-sharing structures will not always be appropriate and the relevant contracting strategy must be selected on its own merits.

A target cost is only as good as the detailed cost estimates that underpin it, and the assumptions that bound it. If costs are too uncertain or the assumptions are too open ended, incentivisation will fail.

Such structures also rely on contractors having more flexibility to deliver. It can be hard for authorities to give up

26 — SUMMER | 2014

such control and adapt to a new role of managing the contract and not the work.

It remains to be seen how much further the market will go in accepting greater cost risk through firm and fixed price contracts. There is an emerging role for them, but there are areas where it will remain difficult to transfer risk – such as historic contamination where record keeping is minimal and/or understanding of the decommissioning required is uncertain.

Contract structures will also be dictated by annual funding constraints which create a tension between lowest cost and affordability.

Procurement process In the UK in common with much of Europe, procurement is largely conducted through regulated processes designed to ensure fairness and transparency. This imposes constraints and raises issues over compliance and bid costs, inflexibility and the risk of challenge.

The key to successfully navigating this is preparation and planning, particularly on evaluation. Adopting a clear set of objectives and matching them to the contracting and procurement strategies is essential. It also requires a timetable that is both realistic and achievable.

Most importantly authorities must ensure the procuring team has sufficient expertise and is appropriately empowered to deliver its responsibilities.

Post-contract A procurement will only be truly successful if the contract delivers – this requires effective contract management and adequate resourcing. This is particularly important in the first 18 months after contract award, often the critical period in determining success or failure.

Practically, transfer of knowledge can be achieved through training, guidance materials and support and continuity of personnel. Culturally, it requires early buy-in from the contract managers, to ensure they understand the deal and take ownership.

JOHN HOULDEN Procurement and State-Aid Partner Burges Salmon john.houlden@burges-salmon.com

NIA Decommissioning Group BY. STEPHANIE MCKENNA â „ NIA

Back in March, NIA held its Decommissioning Group (DG) meeting at the Hunday Manor Hotel in Cumbria. The event was supported by an evening reception, dinner and two excellent facility tours of Sellafield and LLWR. The Group who visited Sellafield were welcomed with an overview of the site, a brief history of the developments of Sellafield over the last 50+ years and then a bus tour around the site allowing the group to see the size and complexity of Sellafield. The visit was followed by a whistelstop tour of THORPE and the National Nuclear Laboratory.

The LLWR visit was hosted by Martin Walkinshaw (Head of Waste Management Services) and Jonathan Evans (Head of Commercial, LLWR) and focused on how LLWR is implementing the UK's National Waste Programme and offering Waste Services to a range of UK and international clients. Opportunities for the supply chain to support LLWR were also explained.

The visit concluded with a site tour, which included low level waste container storage areas and the ongoing work to address historical legacy waste at the site.

The DG which now regularly attracts 90+ people at the meeting heard commercial opportunities from Sellafield and LLWR as well as an update from the National Skills Academy for Nuclear on developments of the Triple Bar courses within the NDA estate, the decommissioning and clean up priorities for the Environment Agency as well as interesting case studies and overviews from a number of NIA member companies.

The meeting welcomes individuals from member companies to attend with opportunities to speak and sponsor. If you are not already receiving information on this group and would like to take part in some way please contact the secretariat of the group at stephanie.mckenna@niauk.org. The group meets three times a year and these meeting are located across the UK. The next meeting is being held at the Birchwood Centre in Warrington on Thursday 3 July.

2014 | SUMMER — 27

NEW NIA MEMBERS

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BENEFITS OF NIA MEMBERSHIP AT NIAUK.ORG/ MEMBERSHIPINFORMATION

APT Transtelex Ltd APT specialises in the supply of technical translations to the energy and engineering sectors. Work undertaken includes project deliverables, tenders, training, contractual and other related materials. APT is actively working in the nuclear industry, and is currently involved in project work for Hinkley Point C, translating from French to English.

Health and Safety Laboratory HSL is one of the world's leading providers of health and safety solutions to industry, government and professional bodies. They employ over 350 scientific, medical and technical specialists, who make working environments and working lives safer, in the UK and around the world.

Their work focuses on understanding and reducing health and safety risks through research, consultancy, expert advice, specialist training and product development. They help nuclear site licence holders and the regulator to reduce risks to the workforce and the public by applying critical thinking skills to address hazards and responding with agility to emerging customer issues.

Goodwin International Ltd Goodwin International are a family run, British engineering company with direct focus on the Nuclear, Renewable and Power Generation, Defence and Petro-Chemical markets. Established for over 60 years they specialise in heavy precision, complex milling and turning in particular with exotic materials such as Duplex, as well as the standard materials such as carbon/stainless steel.

They have an extensive workshop with highly modern, sophisticated machine tools which allows them to incorporate all engineering activities from supply of material or receiving free-issue material, machining, fabrication, assembly and testing. With a large capacity they can handle components up to 100,000kg.

NW Structural Consultants Limited Experts in the assessment of existing safety critical steel and reinforced concrete industrial structures for adequacy to sustain new and temporary loading conditions from plant modifications, lifting operations or installation of temporary works (e.g. scaffold wind loads).

LOLER certification of existing structures for miscellaneous lifting operations during outage periods of operational nuclear power stations is a particular speciality (‘grey beam’ assessments). they pride themselves in quick response to incidental emergent problems.

WELCOME

28 — SUMMER | 2014

RSK Radiological RSK offers its nuclear industry services through RSK Radiological, a joint venture between RSK and the US-based decommissioning expert Radiation Safety and Control Services Inc. (RSCS). RSCS brings a high level of expertise to help customers, being the only company in the world to have decommissioned three nuclear power sites to greenfield status.

Shearman & Sterling LLP Shearman & Sterling’s global nuclear energy practice includes dedicated nuclear lawyers who specialise in advising on first-of-a-kind projects and transactions throughout the nuclear sector.

Combining with Shearman & Sterling’s world-leading project development and finance experience under English and New York law, they focus on procurement, construction and financing for nuclear new build, as well as related nuclear-industry specific advice on international nuclear law, nuclear liability and nuclear trade issues.

Shearman & Sterling is also currently working on the largest international arbitration in the nuclear sector.

Selex ES Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, is an international leader in electronic and information technologies for defence systems, aerospace, infrastructures, data, land security and protection and sustainable ’smart’ solutions.

From the design, development and production of state-of-the-art software, equipment, and systems through to life support, Selex partners with customers to deliver the information superiority required to act decisively, complete missions and maintain security and protection for operational effectiveness.

OPINION

PowerPolitics “THE UK NEEDS TO MAKE PROGRESS ON ITS NEW NUCLEAR BUILD PROGRAMME AND THE UK SUPPLY CHAIN IS ITCHING TO GET STARTED”

The biggest political news since my last column has been Ukraine, which William Hague described as ‘the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century’. Whilst this description could ultimately prove to be overdramatic – we shall only know for certain when the crisis ends – it has undoubtedly tested politicians on both sides of the East/West divide.

The crisis has emphasised the importance of energy security and politicians have been quick to react.

The G7 (no longer G8) summit in early May called for ‘a systematic and enduring step change to improve energy security at national, regional and global levels’, prioritising low-carbon sources including nuclear power. For its part, the European Council called on the Commission to carry out an urgent indepth study of EU energy security, and to deliver a comprehensive plan for the reduction of EU energy dependence.

It will be interesting to see whether these words translate into action.

Historically the Community’s main efforts have focused on the climate change package and the internal energy market, rather than security. Moreover nuclear has been largely ignored. In the light of Ukraine this needs to be corrected: renewables investment alone will not provide the security required.

Foratom, our trade association in Brussels will argue strongly to the Commission that as a tried and tested technology providing continuous largescale and cost effective low carbon generation, nuclear can make a major contribution to reducing dependence on

fossil fuel imports. We argued precisely this in our submission on the Hinkley state aid case, noting that whilst nuclear does not provide the solution to all of the UK’s energy challenges, it can make a substantial contribution to the UK’s common energy objectives.

It will not have escaped notice that the recent EU parliamentary elections have resulted in a new European Parliament. Whilst the centre right European Peoples Party (EPP) remains the largest pan-European party, there is now far greater representation from Eurosceptic parties, including UKIP from the UK. At the time of writing it is not clear what the implications of this will be, either for energy, and specifically nuclear policy, or more generally for the European project itself. We shall assess this with our colleagues at Foratom.

The next major democratic test on the home front will be the Scottish referendum on 18 September. Currently this appears neck and neck. The eventual result will have some implications for the industry. But with no new build proposals for Scotland and the Scottish Nationalist Party seeing a continuing role for the current stations, nuclear has not been a key campaign issue.

Ofgem has announced a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into energy prices, as Ed Miliband’s 2013 speech continues to create political heat. Interestingly the investigation follows a joint report with the Office of Fair Trading which stated they were unable to conclude whether the Big 6’s profits were excessive, although there

were ‘indications supporting the view that competition in the market may not be functioning properly’. What is crystal clear is the intense political interest!

Prices apart, the Government is making good progress with the implementation of electricity market reform, and DECC is proposing to lay the implementing secondary legislation before the House in June, with a view to it coming into force in August 2014. There should therefore be two important milestones in the next few months provided the EU state aids case concludes in the autumn as anticipated.

It has been reported that over 40,000 responses to the EU’s consultation have been submitted, although the vast majority were apparently the result of a letter writing campaign. As I said in my last column it is vital the Commission keeps to its October timetable, not least because the UK needs to make progress on its new nuclear build programme and the UK supply chain is itching to get started.

Finally the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has initiated an inquiry into the scope for developing small nuclear reactors in the UK. The NIA will appear before the Committee in late June.

PETER HASLAM Head of Policy NIA peter.haslam@niauk.org

2014 | SUMMER — 29

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