Industry Link - Spring 2019

MAGAZINE OF THE UK NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION SPRING / 2019

NIAUK.ORG

Nuclear Skills, 2 a global affair ENERMECH TO CREATE 100 JOBS IN SW 18 The search is 16 on: Finding a disposal site EXPORTING EXPERTISE 8 TO THE EAST

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Welcome to IndustryLink

Hannah Fensome hannah.fensome@niauk.org

Welcome to the Spring edition of Industry Link. While Brexit continues to take centre stage, the industry has been rocked by the news that Hitachi has suspended work on its nuclear operations in the UK. This has been a blow to all those who have worked so tirelessly on the project, and the industry as a whole.

With climate change rising swiftly up the political agenda, we will continue to make the case for new nuclear build to be prioritised to aid in the fight against climate change.

This edition of the magazine has a focus on the international element of the industry with an article from Atkins on its specialist nuclear expertise across the world, a piece from Nuclear AMRC on its international links, Sir Robert McAlpine Design Group’s role in the Finite Element modelling and analysis of the Nuclear Auxiliary Building (NAB) for the Taishan EPR, while Urenco gives us an overview of the contribution of the company and Nuclear Sector Deal to the UK. It’s clear that 2019 is set to be a critical year for the nuclear industry and we look forward to working with you up and down the country.

IN THIS ISSUE...

NUCLEAR AND PAGE 19 RENEWABLES PROVIDE 88.3% CLEAN POWER IN SCOTLAND

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URENCO AND PAGE 6 THE NSD NUCLEAR AMRC INTERNATIONAL

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Editor - Hannah Fensome Art Editor - Dan Powney Contributors - Peter Haslam, Ieuan Williams, Shayne Halfpenny-Ray, Julianne Antrobus – SNC-Lavalin Atkins, Ian McAllister – Sir Robert McAlpine, Dominic Kieran – URENCO Limited, Colin Punler – Cavendish Nuclear, Tim Chapman – Nuclear AMRC, Stephen Brauner – Wood, Ann McCall – RWM, Stephen Rafferty – Sure, with additional thanks to World Nuclear News

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Cover image: Courtesy of URENCO Limited - https://urenco.com This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.

Nuclear skills, a global affair BY. JULIANNE ANTROBUS / SNC-LAVALIN ATKINS

F

rom our role on one of the first-generation nuclear reactors in the UK during the 1950s to our current work spanning the global nuclear market, we’re no strangers to working on every stage of the nuclear project lifecycle.

What sets us apart is how we combine our specialist nuclear skills with the breadth and depth of technical knowledge from other infrastructure disciplines around the company.

While certain offices are dedicated to particular nuclear clients, whom we work with on major nuclear programmes for example Hinkley Point C in the UK, ITER in France, and Barakah in the UAE, these programmes are being delivered by tapping into the skillsets within our infrastructure, cost control, programme management, and operations and maintenance teams.

Indeed, it is due to this cross-sector expertise, that we have managed to secure future projects on major nuclear new build projects.

Since the acquisition of Atkins by SNC-Lavalin in 2017, we now have over 3,000 experts worldwide in nuclear disciplines with access to multidisciplinary capabilities from across the wider SNC-Lavalin group.

Our experience in the industry has led to us holding position as trusted advisor with long-term relationships and strategic partnerships. Such as a pre-eminent advisory position to UK Government on nuclear sector deal and SMR technology; the UAE government on its new civil nuclear programme; global CANDU utilities, as steward of CANDU

From waste management experts in the USA, O&M expertise in the Middle East, plant life extension in Canada, to designing and building new reactors in UK and Europe, we’re the team that engineers, builds, manages and decommissions nuclear facilities, using the latest technology solutions to ensure the lights stay on and the world remains a safe place.

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technology; and the US Government in work we deliver for Department of Energy.

Our increased international footprint means that we have had to learn, and implement such newly-learned skills, across regulatory and physical borders, in order to offer best practice to our clients.

With these strategic partnerships, our role in the sector extends further to advise on future energy policies and the part that nuclear has to play; ultimately, we believe the energy system must be completely fossil fuel-free.

Renewables will provide a significant proportion of primary energy, but deep decarbonisation will also require a substantial proportion of nuclear power, fission and fusion.

We envision that the ultimate energy system (beyond 2050) will be: one in which no fossil fuel resources will be employed, neither coal nor oil and gas.

Energy generation will comprise of renewables and nuclear (fission and fusion); energy storage and smart demand management will be employed to optimise use of generating assets; energy vectors will be electricity and hydrogen; and the system will be much more decentralised than today.

Thus, we have the cross-sector experience and knowledge, and the drive that can push boundaries to improve lives, to protect our planet and to ensure prosperity through secure and affordable nuclear energy.

With this comes a responsibility to help ensure that this energy, and certainly future energy sources, are safer, cleaner and smarter.

MEDIA WATCH NEWS

In December, a new search to find a site for the Geological Disposal Facility was launched. Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “Geological disposal is the best strategy for the long term safe and secure management of radiological waste … It is right communities are being placed at the centre of the process of finding the best sites for geological disposal facilities.”

On 17 January, Hitachi’s decision to suspend its nuclear operations, including the Wylfa Newydd power plant on Anglesey, was of significant interest to the media.

The Nuclear Industry Association issued a statement to media. Tom Greatrex spoke about the impact of this on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, BBC News, Sky News, BBC Radio Wales, and BBC Radio Cumbria.

The third annual Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) was published in January by Airswift and Energy Jobline. The report emphasised the extent to which the UK nuclear industry is dependent on EU workers.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “The nuclear industry in the UK has benefited from access to a wide pool of skilled workers from across Europe. Movement of people and services continue to be a concern for the industry as there is a lack of detail from government on how this would work once we leave the European Union.”

The UK has joined the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), which means the UK can now participate in in significant research and development into the next generation of nuclear technologies.

The NIA commented “The UK becoming party to the GIF framework is positive news for the nuclear sector in the UK. The UK has consistently been a world leader in nuclear technology and joining the GIF will enable us to share our expertise in nuclear research and technology. It will also help facilitate a closer working relationship with the 14 other members of the Forum.”

The Nuclear Industry Association has worked to create a social media campaign which demonstrates the importance of nuclear. To date, the campaign has included a 90 second animation called Clean Power: Finding the Right Mix promoting the green credentials of nuclear, as well as explaining its current position in the energy landscape and economic value, which ran as a Facebook advert that gained over 63,000 impressions.

The second phase ran as a series of promoted tweets as GIFs on Twitter. The next part of this campaign will follow on from this a behind the scenes video with short interviews which will also be promoted on Twitter. The final phase of this campaign will run on YouTube. To keep up to date with this, make sure you follow us on Twitter @NIAUK and YouTube NuclearIndustryUK.

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

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Swedish regulator supports expansion Sweden’s Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has recommended granting a permit for the expansion of the country’s existing SFR repository The repository comprises four rock vaults and a chamber in the bedrock, and has the capacity to store about 63,000m3 of waste.

SKB, the company responsible for storing Sweden’s nuclear waste, applied in December 2014 to triple the size of the SFR facility, to about 200,000m3.

The extended part of the repository will consist of six new rock chambers. The application is being reviewed by both SSM and the Land and Environment Court.

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NuScale SMR to be considered for Jordan A joint feasibility study on deployment of NuScale’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in Jordan will be carried out through a memorandum of understanding signed between NuScale Power and the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC).

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The SMR design houses a reactor core, pressuriser and steam generator inside a single containment vessel. One module can generate 50 MWe is 25 metres long, and weighs 450 tonnes. A power plant could include up to 12 modules to produce as much as 720 MWe. The design is undergoing review by the US regulators and NuScale expects the application to be approved by 2020.

In 2007 Jordan’s Committee for Nuclear Strategy set out a programme for nuclear power to provide 30% of electricity by 2030, plus some for export.

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Kaiga 1 completes record-breaking run In December, Unit 1 of India’s Kaiga power plant completed a record 962 unbroken days of operation since 2016, generating about 5 billion units of electricity at a plant load factor of about 99.3%, The indigenously designed pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) broke the previous world record of 940 days continuous operation, held by the UK’s Heysham II plant, an advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR). Both PHWRs and AGRs are designed to be refuelled without being shut down.

In October, Kaiga 1 set a new record of 895 days of continuous operation of

a PHWR. The previous record was set in 1994 by Canada’s Pickering unit 7, with an unbroken run of 894 days’ operation.

Three of India’s reactors have now achieved continuous operating runs of over two years.

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Nuclear the ‘ideal way’ for dealing with climate change Bill Gates has written in his year-end blog that nuclear power is an “ideal” way for dealing with climate change.

The Microsoft co-founder chairs TerraPower LLC, a nuclear energy venture. In his blog Gates wrote: “Nuclear is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day.”

There are “several promising ideas” in advanced nuclear that should be explored, he noted. “TerraPower, uses an approach called a traveling wave reactor that is safe, prevents proliferation, and produces very little waste. The world needs to be working on lots of solutions to stop climate change. Advanced nuclear is one, and I hope to persuade US leaders to get into the game.”

The traveling wave reactor is a liquid sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses depleted or natural uranium as fuel.

Taishan EPR Nuclear Auxiliary Building BY. IAN MCALLISTER / SIR ROBERT MCALPINE

PROJECT TEAM Client Areva NP China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Employer

oyne et Bellier (now part of the Tractebel/ C Engie Group)

Structural Engineer

Sir Robert McAlpine Design Group

Contractor China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corporation The Sir Robert McAlpine Design Group (MDG), based in Knutsford, Cheshire, provides engineering and architectural services to clients across the nuclear sector. The MDG design team were responsible for the design of the NAB for the Flamanville EPR. It was also responsible for the Finite Element modelling and analysis of the Nuclear Auxiliary Building (NAB) for the Taishan EPR, China.

Working directly for French consultant, Coyne et Bellier, who were responsible for the design of the Nuclear Island, MDG undertook analysis of the seismically qualified 50 m x 50 m x 45 m cellular reinforced concrete NAB structure.

This analysis was followed by reinforcement design to Eurocode 2 in parallel with the production of a full set of general arrangement drawings.

MDG was provided with a Project Design Management System (PDMS) model of the building which was released in stages as the design of the 10 floor building progressed. The PDMS model was used for three integrated workstreams:

KEY PROJECT DATA →→ Cellular concrete structure →→ Dimensions = 50m x 50m in plan →→ Total height 45m. 12m below ground. 10 storey structure →→ Base thickness = 2m →→ Total weight = 65,000t →→ 818 wall panels →→ ANSYS FE Model with 814,000 elements →→ FE Model converted directly from PDMS model →→ 359 Formwork drawings; 94 Reinforcement drawings for

foundation slab

→→ Management of 200 DTSs (Design changes)

→→ Firstly, it was converted into an ANSYS

FE model to enable the structural analysis and design of the NAB. →→ Secondly, it was used as the

background for the 2D construction drawings and converted into a 3D AutoCAD model to enable access to the base data for all employees involved with the project.

3D model of +10.500m level floor and walls

Section through NAB (PDMS)

→→ Thirdly, the model was used to prepare

Bills of Quantities for the structure including concrete volumes, formwork areas, and all cast-in items.

MDG undertook full Finite Element analysis of the structure including dynamic analysis with over 200 load combinations considered.

MDG also produced 359 general arrangement drawings, 94 full reinforcement drawings of the NAB base raft along with design intent drawings for the rest of the structure to show the reinforcement design requirements for use by the detailers.

In all, over 200 design changes were managed during the project. For more information visit www.srm.com.

Nuclear Auxiliary Building HNX

Nuclear Auxiliary Building HQA (mostly concealed) integrated at Taishan

Location of the Nuclear Auxiliary Building

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An overview of the Nuclear Sector Deal and URENCO’s contribution to the UK

IT IS CRITICAL THAT NUCLEAR COMPANIES POSITIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMITMENTS IN THE GOVERNMENT’S NUCLEAR SECTOR DEAL (NSD)

At Urenco we are taking a leading role in the NSD by sharing nearly 50 years of experience building an exports-focused international business, supplying uranium enrichment services and fuel cycle products to countries which use nuclear power to generate electricity.

A key element of the NSD is the UK nuclear new build programme and we are ready to supply any new reactor.

The wide ranging, substantial scope and scale of the contribution we make to the UK’s economy and society has been highlighted in the initial results of a socio-economic study of our UK operations and global headquarters which we commissioned from the University of Central Lancashire. Taking the headings from the NSD, it showed the following.

URENCO’s contribution to UK nuclear IDEAS →→ Through our Richie education

programme, we invest in inspiring a broad participation in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and engagement with nuclear issues.

The programme includes practical workshops and digital resources and has reached more than a quarter of a million students since 2007.

PEOPLE →→ We employ people in skilled, well-paid

jobs which out-perform the regional, sector and job median salaries.

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Our most recent employee ‘pulse’ survey showed a 7% increase in the level of commitment and engagement. This result is above the global benchmark for the countries in which we operate.

We also support the next generation of industry leaders with investment in the recruitment of young apprentices.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT →→ We have a significant presence and are

a contributor of substantial value to the region and industry. →→ We engage with a deep and wide network of suppliers reaching every region of the UK while operating a business which significantly outperforms the average productivity for the sector.

For our UK companies, 95% of our supply chain spend was in the UK (a significant proportion of which was in the nuclear arc of North West England and North Wales). →→ We have made a substantial investment in a new deconversion, or Tails Management, Facility (TMF), at Capenhurst in Cheshire, which responsibly manages the bi-product (tails) of our enrichment services, and 98% of the total suppliers were based in the UK.

PLACES →→ 82% of our UK employees are located

within the nuclear arc and their personal spending is clustered in those regions. →→ We are supporting local communities by offering our workforce eight hours per year to volunteer, in addition to sponsorships and donations.

URENCO’s global infrastructure and exports We invest heavily in infrastructure, operating major enrichment facilities in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, with leading centrifuge technology.

In fact, we are the only fuel cycle provider with such a diverse and secure supply and today have more than 50 customers in 19 countries. Critical infrastructure on this scale can be sustained only by exports.

This is within a highly competitive global market with strong State support and it is encouraging that the UK fuel cycle will also have the advantage of Government backing through the NSD. In return, we will share our exports knowledge and experience to ensure the wider industry and the UK as a whole can benefit.

In summary, Urenco, as a core part of the UK nuclear fuel industry, makes a valuable contribution to the country’s economy and society, with a substantial focus upon the North West and North Wales. We look forward to continuing to work with Government and other key stakeholders to realise the benefits of the NSD and the wider Industrial Strategy.

DOMINIC KIERAN URENCO Limited https://urenco.com

URENCO Deutschland - Gronau, Germany

Tails Management, Facility (TMF) - Capenhurst, Cheshire

URENCO USA - New Mexico, USA

URENCO UK - Capenhurst, Cheshire

URENCO Nederland - Almelo, The Netherlands

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Exporting Expertise to the East BY. COLIN PUNLER / CAVENDISH NUCLEAR

“ Our capability in all aspects of nuclear facility design, maintenance, support and decommissioning, undertaken in the UK and elsewhere, differentiates us. This experience and knowledge is directly relevant to the current challenges facing our Japanese customers.”

Mike Goswell Head of Corporate Planning ( Japan) Cavendish Nuclear

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B

ritain’s nuclear decommissioning sector is one of the most developed in the world, with complex clean-up programmes underway at 17 sites, including the country’s largest, Sellafield.

Competition is driving innovation and efficiency in the development of products and services – and creating a platform for companies like Cavendish Nuclear to reach out internationally to emerging decommissioning markets.

Britain’s largest nuclear services company believes it can help countries such as Japan find solutions to their own clean-up needs.

“Clean-up and decommissioning is an increasingly important aspect of the nuclear industry in Japan following the events at Fukushima,” explained Mark Rouse, President of Cavendish Nuclear Japan.

“Many of their challenges are very similar to those faced by the UK. The decommissioning supply chain here is now among the most mature in the world, working on some of the most complex projects.

“Cavendish Nuclear has shown it can deliver nuclear clean-up safer, faster and at lower cost. Now we want to help countries like Japan do the same.”

Cavendish Nuclear opened its Tokyo office in 2018 to build on existing and historical relationships with customers in Japan.

The country’s first commercial nuclear power station at Tokai was built to the British Magnox design. Cavendish Nuclear was the designer and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the Tokai plant and today is the lead partner that is decommissioning 10 of Britain’s Magnox reactor sites.

At Dounreay, where fast reactors cooled by liquid metal and fuel reprocessing plants are in advanced stages of their decommissioning, Cavendish Nuclear leads the site consortium. Dounreay hosts regular delegations from Japan looking to learn about the decommissioning of their own fast reactor at Monju.

Cavendish Nuclear is a major supplier to Sellafield and has delivered numerous high hazard projects integrating state of the art radiological products with commercial off the shelf technology and remotely operated tooling to create effective bespoke solutions.

Mike Goswell lived in Japan for 14 years, working in the education and aviation sectors and becoming fluent in Japanese.

After a spell back in the UK with Babcock International Group, he returned to Japan to lead Cavendish Nuclear’s presence there.

“Our track record is in the delivery of projects which have a strong similarity with those Japan is about to embark on,” he explained.

“Our capability in all aspects of nuclear facility design, maintenance, support and decommissioning, undertaken in the UK and elsewhere, differentiates us. This experience and knowledge is directly relevant to the current challenges facing our Japanese customers.

“I am proud to be representing a UK company establishing a business here that is aligned to local business practices. It demonstrates to our Japanese customers that we can be trusted to work with and that we are committed to supporting them.”

Cavendish Nuclear, working with OC Robotics and the wider Babcock International Group, is deploying world-

leading robotic technology to deliver safer, faster and more cost-effective decommissioning of one of the world’s most hazardous facilities The company is merging its award-winning radiological mapping technology with state-of-the-art virtual reality and robotics to create a new, remotely-operated platform capable of taking apart the soon-to-be-redundant reprocessing plants at Sellafield.

Sellafield Ltd is looking for new technology to help it decommission the site’s nuclear fuel reprocessing complex.

Cavendish Nuclear partnered with OC Robotics and Babcock International Group to develop a remotely-operated platform that integrates the company’s own radiological mapping technology with spatial imaging, laser-snake robotics and virtual reality capabilities from other industry.

The result is the Sellafield In-Cell Decommissioning System (SIDS), backed by £1.5m of R&D funding from the UK Government.

“We are integrating technologies developed across different sectors of industry to deliver a breakthrough in the reduction of risks to workers, increased productivity, more efficient management of waste, reduced timescales and lower overall costs,” explained Cavendish Nuclear’s Head of Innovation and Technology Tony Burnett.

The combination of radiation mapping, spatial imaging and virtual reality simulation allows operators to programme the sequence of robotic cutting in a way that synchronises with the site’s waste routes. For more information on Cavendish Nuclear visit www.cavendishnuclear.com.

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Nuclear AMRC international links BY. TIM CHAPMAN / NUCLEAR AMRC

NL president Mark Lesinski (L) and Nuclear AMRC CEO Andrew Storer (R) sign the C membership agreement at the Canada-UK Energy Summit in November 2018.

he Fit For Nuclear team visit the Barakah new build site (L-R) Head of Supply Chain Ian Williams, T Project Manager Anna Boland, Strategic Advisor Chris Moore, and Industrial Advisor John Olver.

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The nuclear market is inherently global, and the UK’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC) is working with partners around the world to better help UK companies win work.

The centre’s latest international partnership, with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), will help industry and researchers in both countries work together to develop next-generation nuclear technologies.

CNL is taking tier one membership of the Nuclear AMRC, with Mark Lesinski, President and Chief Executive Officer of CNL, and Andrew Storer, Chief Executive of the Nuclear AMRC, signing the deal at the Canada-UK Energy Summit in London in November.

“For CNL, membership offers tremendous benefits, including access to unique capabilities and training programmes, participation in cutting-edge manufacturing manufacturing innovation projects, and networking opportunities with some of the world’s leading nuclear organisations,” Lesinski commented.

“In turn, CNL can offer the Nuclear AMRC access to our expertise and facilities from a wide range of nuclear science and technology disciplines.”

CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories campus in Ontario is home to a host of nuclear facilities, currently undergoing a $1.2 billion transformation to develop

new capabilities in areas including small modular reactors (SMRs) and nextgeneration nuclear fuels.

“These programmes are ambitious in scope, and will certainly require the expertise and technologies of key partners – such as the Nuclear AMRC and their UKbased membership – to fully realise their potential,” Lewinski noted.

The Nuclear AMRC is already working with other international partners to bring new designs of SMRs to market. The centre’s researchers are now midway through a four-year collaboration with the US Electric Power Research Institute, to develop new manufacturing and fabrication methods for SMR pressure vessels, funded by the US Department of Energy and involving industrial partners on both sides of the Atlantic including Sheffield Forgemasters.

The project aims to reduce the total time needed to produce a SMR pressure vessel from around two and a half years to less than 12 months, by exploiting processes including hot isostatic pressing, electron beam welding, diode laser cladding and advanced machining.

The centre is also a partner in a variety of international collaborative projects funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme, from developing intelligent robotic machining technologies as part of the €6 million Coroma project, to

investigating modular manufacturing and construction techniques for the Gemini high-temperature gas reactor for industrial co-generation applications.

The Nuclear AMRC’s supply chain development experts are also working with international partners to strengthen international links, including an ongoing collaboration with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC).

The project is supported by the UK’s Department for International Trade, and is designed to export UK expertise to help ENEC develop a supply chain for its four Kepco APR-1400 reactors at Barakah.

ENEC’s supply chain team have visited a cross-section of UK manufacturers which have taken part in the Nuclear AMRC’s Fit For Nuclear (F4N) programme, and F4N advisors are now supporting six UAEbased manufacturers through a tailored pilot programme.

Nuclear AMRC researchers are also investigating other measures to support the development of the UAE nuclear supply chain, which could lead to R&D collaborations involving manufacturers and researchers in both countries.

That will benefit the supply chains in both nations as they embark on ambitious nuclear new build programmes and look to develop innovative products and services for the global market.

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Taking control of tomorrow BY. STEPHEN BRAUNER / WOOD

By marrying together two rare skillsets, Wood has come up with a compelling proposition for upgrading control systems in the nuclear sector

Nuclear sites have a long lifespan and many of their operating plants and facilities rely on ageing control and protection systems, which need replacing.

For safety reasons and to ensure un-interrupted operation, it is essential that upgrading or replacement is a seamless changeover from the old to the new.

At nuclear power plants, replacing obsolete systems can have significant implications for the safety case and cause lengthy and expensive outages. As a result of this, Wood has done a lot of work on finding ways to replace systems with minimum impact on energy generation.

The replacement of high-integrity control systems at two of EDF Energy’s UK power plants – Heysham 2 and Torness – provides an excellent example of how such a fleet critical project should be tackled.

At the two stations the fuel route plant, including the fuelling machines, were originally controlled by a bespoke control and protection system called Reypak, which dated from when they were built in the 1980s.

The system had become obsolete and unreliable and presented significant availability issues for the two stations.

The fuel route systems are fundamental to the safe and reliable movement of fuel and components, which are in turn essential for the continued operation of the reactors.

To avoid the need to shut down reactors, the solution was phased so that it would deliver an immediate improvement in reliability prior to full migration of the code to new Siemens programmable logic controllers.

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A process was created to migrate and validate the code against a dynamic plant model and test environment which allowed full off-site testing.

Having completed migration and off-site testing, it was possible to reduce the on-site installation and testing to a minimum, thereby reducing plant outage significantly.

Combining our specialist knowledge in nuclear with the deeper understanding and wider sectoral experience of our automation and control (A&C) business enabled us to win a 10-year, $66m control systems framework with Sellafield Ltd, the UK’s largest and most complex nuclear site.

The framework covers all stages of system design, manufacture and assembly of equipment, obsolescence management and maintenance support to project work and decommissioning.

Sellafield has some ageing but safety-critical control systems that need to be seamlessly replaced with modern equipment. This fits well with A&C’s capabilities, particularly as a leading Main Automation Contractor (MAC) in oil & gas and its experience of simulation and virtual commissioning environments in automotive, so Wood was very well placed to respond to the challenge.

It is a major differentiator for us to apply ideas from one sector to bring innovation and business transformation to another. Our work to keep Sellafield’s significant control system infrastructure running smoothly for many more years will provide a great springboard to future opportunities, particularly in digital systems.

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The search is on BY. ANN MCCALL / RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

RWM leading the way to find a suitable site and a willing community to implement geological disposal

oth the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Welsh Government have published their respective policies about the disposal of higher activity radioactive waste. For Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) this marks the beginning of the process to find a suitable site and willing community for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

A GDF is a network of highlyengineered vaults and tunnels built deep underground to permanently dispose of radioactive waste, safely protecting future generations and the environment while levels of radiation decrease naturally over time.

Geological disposal is internationally recognised as the best option for longterm management of higher activity radioactive waste – Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and France are already implementing their own geological disposal programmes.

The consent-based siting process set out in the policies has communities at its heart. RWM will now spend the next few years working in partnership with communities across England and Wales to help people find out more about geological disposal and explore whether a GDF is right for them.

While engagement and knowledge within nuclear communities is high, at a national level awareness of how radioactive waste is managed is very low with only 4% of the general public indicating they know much about geological disposal.* One example of our early success in engaging the public has been the use of Virtual Reality. This visual and dynamic format, showcased at New Scientist Live and the NIA Conference, takes people several decades into the future and up to 1km underground to explore a working virtual GDF. We now have a range of information, including a video of the Virtual Reality tour, available on our dedicated website,

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geologicaldisposal.campaign.gov.uk, to help people understand the project, what’s involved, and how the process will work.

We’ve also gathered information on geology across England, Wales and Northern Ireland relevant to the safety of a GDF. Regional reports and maps summarise the data into an easily accessible format and around this we have developed more than 40 short videos that help explain geology, geological surveying, and the types of rock considered suitable for a GDF. Of course there is no substitute for face-to-face engagement which is why we are also undertaking public consultation on how we will evaluate potential sites.

A series of public events are being held throughout February and into March to help people understand the context of our proposed approach to Site Evaluation for a GDF. However, the events are not part of the formal consultation process. Anyone wishing to submit their views and feedback on six key siting factors – safety, community, environment, engineering feasibility, transport and cost – should do so in writing. Details of events and how to participate in the public consultation are available on the RWM website (www.gov.uk/guidance/site-evaluationconsultations-public-events).

As a multi-billion-pound, nationally significant environmental protection project, geological disposal will support regional growth and critical investment in infrastructure.

Everyone in the nuclear sector can play a part in helping to raise awareness of geological disposal as the environmentally responsible and sustainable solution to manage radioactive waste for the long-term – for today’s society and future generations.

Visit geologicaldisposal.campaign. gov.uk to find out more about the siting process and to take part in the site evaluation consultation.

2019 | SPRING — 17

EnerMech to create 100 jobs as it targets onshore sector in south west England BY. STEPHEN RAFFERTY ⁄ SURE PUBLIC RELATIONS LTD

EnerMech General Manager South West Duncan Frame (left) with Regional Director Europe, Ross McHardy.

EnerMech will develop an onshore capability in to the South West of England which will create up to 100 jobs in the Bristol area over the next three years.

The Aberdeen-based mechanical and electrical services specialist will target the nuclear, industrial processing, refining, petrochemical, aviation, defence, transport and infrastructure sectors as it diversifies outwith its energy industry roots.

The company believes its track record in the highly regulated offshore industry and experience of working on global infrastructure projects will enable it to successfully introduce existing service lines in to new onshore sectors.

EnerMech has appointed Duncan Frame, who spent 20 years with GE in senior commercial and operational roles in a number of different sectors, as General Manager South West, and he will spearhead expansion of the EnerMech brand.

Duncan Frame said: “EnerMech has years of experience of working in the highly regulated offshore sector and there exists a number of logical entry points to many of the onshore high tech and broader industrial sectors which populate the Midlands and south of the UK. “The disciplines and methodologies which have been fine tuned in the North Sea and global oil and gas hubs are transferrable to an onshore environment and I see this as a terrific opportunity to build on the EnerMech success story which is strongly founded on evolution and diversification.”

EnerMech business lines including hydraulics, cranes and lifting, integrity and inspection and process and pipelines will appeal to a large number of businesses located in the southern half of the UK. There is also potential to provide integrated services, including electrical and instrumentation and testing and certification, to a number of nuclear, naval and marine projects.

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“We envisage building a significant team of competent, multi-skilled individuals with experience across multiple sectors in the next three to five years and will establish the necessary workshop, storage and testing infrastructure to be on the doorstep of and accessible to potential new clients,“ added Mr Frame.

Established ten years ago, EnerMech employs 3,500 staff across 40 locations in the UK, Norway, the Middle East, Caspian, Asia, Africa, Australia and Americas. The company works on large scale projects across the oil and gas, LNG, renewables, defence, power, infrastructure and petrochemicals sectors and expects to grow revenues in 2018 to £430 million, up from £361 million in 2017.

EnerMech Chief Executive Officer, Doug Duguid, said: “We have always been an outward looking business and this extension in to new markets is a natural step and part of a global strategy which will see EnerMech double in size over the next five years.

“We have successfully diversified from our traditional oil and gas base in to major infrastructure projects and this is another good example of introducing our skills and industry expertise in to new sectors which demand similar levels of regulation and duty of care.”

Formed in April 2008, EnerMech provides a broad range of asset support services to the international energy and infrastructure sectors, from pre-commissioning through operations and maintenance and late-life support/decommissioning.

The business is focused on offering a safer, more customer-focused, responsive service at lower cost, while delivering a much greater level of engineering and technical support than competitors can offer. Visit www.enermech.com for more information.

SNAPSHOT

Nuclear and renewables provide 88.3% clean power in Scotland

Official statistics published by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in December showed the vital role nuclear energy plays in providing low carbon electricity in Scotland.

In 2017, 88% of power generated in Scotland came from hydro, wind and solar renewables along with Scotland’s two nuclear power stations.

The regional Electricity Generation and Supply Figures report showed that in 2017, 36.6% of electricity generated in Scotland came from nuclear, 40.7% from renewables, plus 11% from hydro.

In 2017, Torness and Hunterston B, generated enough electricity to power over 4 million homes and avoided 5.65 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking 2.5 million cars off the road.

Nuclear power in Scotland has remained a stable source of baseload power, supporting intermittent renewables.

We need a balanced mix of power sources to ensure a reliable and available supply of power to homes, businesses and public services. As the only way of providing low carbon baseload power, nuclear in Scotland continues to make a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions.

It has been an important part of the country’s low carbon generation mix since Chapelcross was commissioned.

Scotland’s power mix demonstrates how carbon emissions can be reduced while maintaining a reliable and secure power supply for homes, business and public services. More than three quarters of Scotland’s energy generation comes from low carbon sources – 51.7% from renewables, including hydro, and 36.6% from nuclear.

If we are serious about tackling climate change nuclear must be considered part of a sustainable, clean energy policy.

UK relaunches search to find site to host GDF

The UK Government has relaunched its search for a site to host the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

In December, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a paper entitled ‘Implementing Geological Disposal – Working with Communities’.

This was published alongside Radioactive Waste Management’s (RWM) papers ‘Introduction to Geological Disposal’, ‘Community Guidance’ and ‘National Geological Screening for a GDF’.

This is a major task and is expected to be one of the UK’s largest ever environmental projects. The process to find a suitable site to host the GDF has previously been unsuccessful despite two communities in Cumbria, Copeland

and Allerdale, expressing an interest in hosting a facility.

Cumbria County Council voted against moving to the next stage of the process and in January 2013 that process was put on hold.

Geological disposal is internationally considered the best option for managing higher activity radioactive waste, with Canada, Finland, France, Sweden and Switzerland having already chosen this approach. In fact, some of these countries are well on the way to developing their own GDFs. The GDF would create up to 1,000 jobs during construction and 550 permanent jobs.

RWM has organised a series of meetings across England to give people

more information about the consultation and the GDF. These consultations enable communities to play an active role in the process. The public consultation on this closes on 31 March 2019. Have your say on the Government website: www.gov.uk/ government/consultations/site-evaluationhow-we-will-evaluate-sites-in-england.

WHAT IS A GDF? The GDF is a dedicated facility for the safe and secure isolation of higher activity radio waste between 0.2 and 1km underground. These are designed with multiple barriers to prevent radioactivity from escaping.

2019 | SPRING — 19

BY. SHAYNE HALFPENNY-RAY

T

he Nuclear Industry Association’s annual conference is a staple part of the industry calendar and boasts attendees from all over the sector and the world. It gives the sector a chance to formally celebrate and share knowledge about the year gone by, as well as showcase the huge amount of work that goes on across our industry.

Nuclear 2018 was particularly special for me for two main reasons. Firstly, the Nuclear Industry Association’s former Chair John Hutton stood down after nearly eight years of service and handed the reins over to the capable hands of Dr Tim Stone.

Therefore, to me and the rest of the NIA team it was an incredibly significant event and we were so pleased John was able to represent us and the industry on the stage one last time.

Secondly, it was my responsibility to put together the event programme, one which specifically highlighted all the opportunities and challenges for the sector, with specific reference to the ambitious Nuclear Sector Deal agreed between government and industry last year. As my first time responsible for such an important industry conference, I was hugely pleased to see what a success it turned out to be.

With exciting news on the prospects of finance and cost reduction across the sector, new technologies and supporting innovation, as well as political and international updates, it really was a strong representation of the diverse talent we hold as an industry. It was particularly pleasing to see the Energy Minister, Richard Harrington speak about his continued support of our sector, as well as the countless other fascinating speeches by industry professionals.

As always, we want to thank all of the attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and the industry as a whole as we would not have been able to pull it off without all of you.

Our next conference, Nuclear New Build 2019, will be held on 11-12 June 2019, focusing on nuclear new build and the international marketplace, and we look forward to seeing you all there.

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The Twittersphere BY. IEUAN WILLIAMS

Ever wondered how people always find things out before you do? Even in the modern age of lightning-fast news sharing it’s possible to be behind the times, even if it ironically feels like the news is moving at a snail’s pace. However, do not fear, there are ways you can make sure you’re never out of the loop.

My recently-found personal preference is to turn on tweet notifications from certain individuals. In my case, these are my favourite journalists or political sources who always seem to get the scoop before anyone else. I’m sure others can find more exciting things to follow, or if you like those Made in the Only Geordie Island-type of shows, I’m certain you can keep up with all the ‘gossip’ too.

Although having spent some time thinking about this as a recommendation to others, I must add that it comes with several caveats. At times of crisis, political or otherwise, your screen can end up looking like those monitors on the floors of stock exchanges, much to the amusement of anyone within sight of your phone.

This can also happen when they start tweeting in a personal capacity about their kids playing football at the weekend.

Nobody wants that.

But is this all worth it? I Who to follow? always find it interesting the Want information on nuclear lengths people go to in order and other relevant topics? to know things a few seconds This issue we recommend before someone else, even if you follow: I myself am also one of those people. Take for example @SamCoatesTimes in recent months when @6point626 we’ve been on ‘Ministerial @arlenparsa Resignation Watch’, does it really make a difference? On balance, I’m going to say yes. It does make a difference.

For the most part, being truly knowledgeable on a subject means being really clued up about the order and timing of events. Which Minister resigned first? What did this trigger?

What was the immediate reaction? Then there’s always the rush to google the background of the previously unknown Member of Parliament who has been suddenly promoted.

If 80% of success is just showing up, then surely 80 per cent of getting ahead in the game is being in-the-know before anyone else.

Twitter Count Followers: 6,672 Tweets: 10,302

@NIAUK

Laura Kuenssberg @bbclaurak David Davis has resigned 11:49 PM - 8 Jul 2018 791 Retweets 2,197 Likes

2019 | SPRING — 21

NEWS IN BRIEF

Jacobs advance gender equality Jacobs has formed the first industry partnership with Women in Nuclear UK (WiN UK), demonstrating a continued commitment to achieving gender balance in the nuclear industry.

WiN UK is focused on addressing the industry’s gender balance, improving the representation of women in leadership and with the public on nuclear issues.

Jacobs works on many UK nuclear sites and programmes reaching key stakeholders throughout the nuclear industry. This is WiN UK’s first industry partnership which aims to advance its mission through a collaborative relationship with Jacobs that draws on shared opportunities.

Currently only 22% of the UK’s nuclear industry is female, and this number declines significantly at senior levels, statistics that WiN UK is working to change.

There is strong evidence to suggest that an inclusive environment, with diverse teams, leads to better performance.

Opportunities will include joint events and initiatives throughout the year across the UK to promote careers in STEM, providing mentors and building closer connections with Jacobs’ Women’s Network (JWN).

With over 5,000 members and more than 90 local chapters on six continents, JWN promotes an inclusive culture where women and men can thrive and feel valued.

Jacobs was recently honoured as Employer of Choice for Workplace Gender Equality. The firm continues to make inclusion, diversity and gender equality a priority and is taking additional steps to support and advance these commitments in the workplace.

Rolls-Royce has signed a contract to provide its MTU diesel generators to provide back-up power to at Hinkley Point C. Rolls-Royce is using its broad in-house capability to deliver four generator sets; all instrumentation and controls; and full systems integration. This contract sits alongside another for the provision of Hinkley Point C heat exchangers and associated systems, which was agreed in December 2017.

The diesel generators are supplied from RollsRoyce business unit Power Systems; instrumentation and controls (I&C) systems from its Grenoble-based I&C business; and systems integration engineering from its Warrington and Derby-based nuclear teams.

The generators will guarantee power to critical power station systems in the event of any unplanned outage of the site’s standing supply. Each generator set includes all the auxiliary systems, tanks, coolers, exhaust and air intake systems, pumps, pipework, valves, starting systems, lubricating and fuel oil systems as well as the electrical power generator and all the instrumentation and control systems.

The MTU brand is owned by Rolls-Royce Power Systems, which provides world-leading diesel generators to a large number of nuclear reactors around the world. I&C is based in Grenoble and supplies critical safety systems to more than 150 nuclear power stations in the world.

The Rolls-Royce systems integration expertise in the UK constitutes around 140 engineering and systems specialists.

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Rolls-Royce signs main contract for Hinkley backup power

CRA Consultant wins Newcomer of the Year CRA Consultant Bernat Cirera won the Newcomer of the Year Award at the CIR Risk Management Awards in November 2018.

Bernat, who graduated from the Universities of Barcelona and Paris with a European Masters in Nuclear Energy in 2016, joined CRA in January 2017.

Since then Bernat has gained competence and experience within the Risk area of Probabilistic Safety Analysis particularly within Control and Instrumentation, demonstrating a clear analytical mind and a perpetual desire to question everything and assume nothing.

Alongside this, Bernat undertook study and technical training to develop and further his knowledge about Small Modular Reactors (SMR).

Speaking about his award win Bernat commented: “I didn’t expect to win this award. It is a great honour to receive and it is encouraging me to keep working hard.”

CRA’s CEO Jasbir Sidhu remarked: “This award is thoroughly deserved by Bernat and it is a wonderful acknowledgement of his hard work. I have been impressed by Bernat’s diligence and his desire to learn and develop.”

Prestigious award recognises Wood’s business achievements in China

Wood has won a prestigious award for its pioneering role in exporting engineering expertise to China. The company was named Scottish Exporter to China of the Year at the China-Scotland Business Awards 2019.

Organised by the China-Britain Business Council, the awards recognise innovation, effort, commitment and export successes by showcasing the best Scotland has to offer and encouraging other businesses to look to China as an opportunity.

The award winners were announced at the Chinese Burns Supper 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh.

Wood is working with China General Nuclear Power Corporation, which is proposing to build a Chinese-designed reactor at Bradwell in Essex, UK, as part of a joint venture with EDF Energy.

Support has covered UK context training and technical support for the Generic Design Assessment of the HPR1000 reactor, including help to draw up the Preliminary Safety Report and other key documents required by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.

Golden Whistle award for DRS

l-r: Kevin Mackintosh – DRS, Jonathan Niblock – DRS, Greig Gibson – DRS, James Bottomley – DRS, Oliver Paget – Network Rail, Suzanne Brecken – DRS, David Simpson – Scotrail. Official photograph by: Tony Miles

Direct Rail Services (DRS) received the prestigious Golden Whistle Award for the sixth time running on Friday January 25, when they were officially declared ‘The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator’.

Organised by the Institute of Railway Operators, in conjunction with Modern Railways Magazine, the annual event celebrates operational excellence in the industry.

The Golden Whistle is awarded annually for consistent arrival times at destination over the previous 12 months – DRS were declared more reliable than any of their competitors.

The award also recognises the hard work and dedication of the DRS team, as well as the strong investment in reliability of the DRS fleet of locomotives and assets.

DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and supports its decommissioning mission with its core nuclear transport business. The rail Cumbria based freight company also extends its reliable service offerings into other rail market sectors such as intermodal, infrastructure support services, passenger and charters.

DRS Head of Health, Safety, Environment, & Quality and Performance, Norman Egglestone said: “DRS have just been awarded another well-earned Golden Whistle Award for once again ensuring our customers services arrived at destination on time or no later than 14 minutes behind schedule.

“In the last year, we have seen over 90% of all DRS Commercial freight services achieve this target. DRS rightly remains by far “The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator” and our continued success received special recognition at the presentation attended by almost all of the rail industry organisations. As ever to achieve this award requires co-ordination, planning and delivery across many parts of our business.

“It was particularly pleasing that the award was collected by ‘Team DRS’ with colleagues from all departments and locations across the DRS family. ” NDA Commercial Director, Kate Ellis, said: “DRS makes a vital contribution to the NDA’s decommissioning mission and I am delighted for the team at DRS to have won such a prestigious award, once again reflecting their commitment to service reliability.”

2019 | SPRING — 23

NOT A MEMBER?

NEW NIA MEMBERS

To find out about the work of NIA and benefits of membership visit www.niauk.org/about-us/ membership-benefits.

You will find more information on our business group meetings, monthly updates and our exclusive online trade directory.

To discuss membership options available to your company please call +44 (0)20 7766 6651 or email stephanie.mckenna@niauk.org

Engineered Piping Products Ltd (EPP for short) has over twenty years’ experience in engineering/technical sales for rubber expansion joints and flexible sealing system to the Nuclear Industries worldwide. All it’s products are tested to the following - Especially for the application within the reactor containment: • Lifetime up to 40 years • Radiation resistance • Following a dose of 200 kGy from ionized radiation the rubber elasticity remains to 200% • Free of halogens • Permanent temperature resistance up to 200˚C • Decontamination possible • Nekal gastight • It holds at present a complete range of third party approvals for the Nuclear industry.

Kuka Systems UK Ltd kuka.com KUKA Systems UK is the supplier of automated production solutions and robotic welding systems for use in a wide variety of applications including the aerospace and nuclear sectors.

It is the British manufacturer of Thompson rotary and linear friction welding machines. The company has produced over 700 machines in the past 50 years and has been one of the pioneers in the development of friction welding.

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M. C. Air Filtration Ltd mcaf.co.uk M C Air Filtration design, manufacture and supply high efficiency air filters and associated equipment to the whole of the UK nuclear estate and has been a leading supplier to UK nuclear for the last 40 years.

It has been involved in development and design of high efficiency, high capacity HEPA filters and their associated housings in conjunction with all the major industry bodies within the industry.

Nuclear Energy Components Ltd nec-ltd.co.uk Nuclear Energy Components continues the legacy of Newburgh Engineering.

In the early 1950’s it entered the civil nuclear market manufacturing components and assemblies for Dounreay & Calder Hall.

It has remained faithful to the nuclear sector, with assemblies and components in most nuclear sites in the UK and many around the world.

It has an ingrained nuclear safety culture coupled with service levels to rival anyone in the world.

Sopra Steria soprasteria.co.uk European leader in digital transformation, provides a comprehensive portfolio of end to end service offerings: Consulting, Systems Integration, Business Process Services, Software Development, and Infrastructure Management.

Sopra Steria is trusted by leading organisations to deliver successful transformation programmes that address their most complex and critical business challenges.

Terrestrial Energy Limited terrestrialenergy.com To meet the increasing energy demands of global prosperity, while protecting the environment and the air in our cities that we breathe, we need a game changer.

Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR® small modular reactor is that technology.

IMSR® power plants are safer, simpler, less expensive and much more versatile than conventional nuclear power plants.

IMSR® technology can be brought to market quickly. IMSR® power plants can be built in four years and produce electricity or industrial heat at prices competitive with fossil fuels, while emitting no greenhouse gases.

OPINION

PowerPolitics “THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY’S KEY BREXIT CONCERN REMAINS EURATOM, AND OUR ABILITY TO OPERATE EFFECTIVELY AFTER LEAVING” As I write the Brexit debate is at a critical stage and all bets are off. By the time you read this we might have a new Prime Minister or be enduring a general election. Perhaps there will be a firm decision to leave the EU with a ‘finessed’ deal; with no deal (cripes); or even to hold a new referendum.

More likely still we shall be no further forward at all.

From the nuclear perspective it is reassuring the Government has been making steady progress in setting up the UK’s domestic nuclear safeguards regime.

In the event of no deal this will be vital for the ongoing operation of the UK’s existing nuclear fleet, for new build; for nuclear fuel movements; and for trade with key international markets.

The implementing regulations – much improved from the drafts consulted on last year – were laid in Parliament before Christmas, and can come into force on 29 March if necessary. Similarly the three nuclear cooperation agreements with key countries Australia, Canada and the US, along with the Voluntary Offer Agreement and Additional Protocol with the IAEA, have now been ratified by Parliament and are available when needed. Japan also requires an NCA to trade, but the existing UK/Japan bilateral agreement can be easily amended.

Meanwhile the ONR is making good progress establishing the new regulatory regime, recruiting inspectors who are now trained and warranted up to IAEA standards, and establishing the necessary IT systems to process, log and monitor the material accountancy and controls.

Regular readers of this column will recall the movement of labour has been a key concern for industry because of our need to import specialist skills and to recruit from the European engineering and construction workforce. The publication of the Immigration White Paper in December has provided helpful detail on the Government’s thinking.

Industry will need to consider the proposals carefully, but on the face of it the intention to prioritise highly skilled and skilled workers (migrants) in the post Brexit immigration system; not to impose a cap on skilled workers; and to review the Shortage Occupation List are all a move in the right direction.

Despite all this progress, like most of the rest of UK industry we remain very concerned about broader contingency planning to counter, for example, the reduced flow of goods through ports. To ensure the nuclear dimension is properly factored in we are keeping in close touch with BEIS as the deadline approaches.

Whilst Brexit dominated politics, the big industry story this month has of course been Hitachi announcing the suspension of Wylfa. Bitter news for all those at Horizon, who have shown huge dedication and commitment to making a success of the project. Given it was on the verge of getting the go-ahead it is also terrible for the supply chain, who were already gearing up to supply it. The industrial impacts will be keenly felt both in Anglesey and more widely.

From a policy perspective the decision also blows a hole in the UK’s energy strategy. With the current AGR f leet progressively coming off line we need to get on with new build urgently if the lights are not to go out. Wylfa remains a site designated for new build and Government must do all it can to secure a new plant there quickly. Like Moorside it has huge local support and, as with Moorside, we cannot afford to leave it empty.

Predictably nuclear opponents are now arguing this is a golden opportunity to abandon nuclear altogether and go for 100% renewables, but abandoning the current low carbon energy mix approach would be a massive mistake. As I noted before excluding nuclear power from the mix would be both impractical and incredibly expensive, not least because

the intermittency problem might require the construction of several times the capacity as if nuclear were in the mix. .

Nonetheless the failure to proceed with Wylfa does highlight the need for a sustainable financing arrangement if capital intensive infrastructure projects like nuclear are to get off the ground.

Greg Clarke told Parliament in January the Government are assessing the regulated asset base (RAB) mechanism which provides investors with an agreed long-term return – and expect to publish something in the summer. It is vital this timetable is kept to.

The RAB model has been successfully used in the past to finance long term projects in the energy, telecoms and water sectors - most recently the Thames Tideway Tunnel – and would make nuclear competitive with the cheapest low carbon generation projects.

To conclude with some brighter news, the Government have finally published their long-awaited policy paper ‘Implementing Geological Disposal: Working with Communities’.

This replaces the 2014 White Paper and sets out the Government’s policy framework for managing higher activity radioactive waste, including its consent based approach to working with communities to find a suitable location for a GDF. This is a vital step towards cleaning up the nuclear legacy and means RWM can now begin in earnest their search for a GDF site.

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

2019 | SPRING — 25

Nuclear Industry Association is a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 2804518. Registered Office: 5th Floor, Tower House, 10 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HA