Nuclear Power In The United Kingdom
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Nuclear power in the United Kingdom generated 16.1% of the country's
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
in 2020. , the UK has five operational
nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
s at four locations (4
advanced gas-cooled reactor The advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) is a type of nuclear reactor designed and operated in the United Kingdom. These are the generation II reactor, second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using Nuclear graphite, graphite as the neutron ...
s (AGR) and one
pressurised water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada). In a PWR, water is used both as ...
(PWR)), producing 5.9GWe. It also has
nuclear reprocessing Nuclear reprocessing is the chemical separation of fission products and actinides from spent nuclear fuel. Originally, reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing nuclear weapons. With commercialization of nuclear power, the ...
plants at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
and the Tails Management Facility (TMF) operated by
Urenco The Urenco Group is a British-German-Dutch nuclear fuel consortium operating several uranium enrichment plants in Germany, the Netherlands, United States, and United Kingdom. It supplies nuclear power stations in about 15 countries, and stat ...
in
Capenhurst Capenhurst is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is two miles south west of Ellesmere Port, at the southern end of the Wi ...
. The United Kingdom established the world's first civil nuclear programme, opening a nuclear power station, Calder Hall at Windscale, England, in 1956. The British installed base of nuclear reactors used to be dominated by domestically developed Magnox and their successor AGR reactors with graphite moderator and coolant but the last of those are nearing the end of their useful life and will be replaced with "international"
pressurised water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada). In a PWR, water is used both as ...
s. At the peak in 1997, 26% of the nation's electricity was generated from
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
. Since then several reactors have closed and by 2012 the share had declined to 19%. The older AGR reactors have been life-extended, but they are now towards the end of their life. In October 2010, the
Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general el ...
took forward the previous Labour government's plans for private suppliers to construct up to eight new nuclear power plants. The
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
, with the backing of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
, has stated that no new nuclear power stations will be constructed in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. E.ON UK, RWE npower and Horizon Nuclear Power have been pulling out of their initial plans for developing new nuclear power plants, placing the future of nuclear power in the UK in some doubt. Despite this, EDF Energy is still planning to build four new reactors at two sites, with construction ongoing at
Hinkley Point Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, north of Bridgwater and west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. Excavations in 2014 and 2015, carried out by Cotswold Archaeology and fun ...
in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. In light of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the government of
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
announced a renewed commitment to nuclear power, using the EPR and potentially other PWR designs as well as yet-to-be-developed
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
s in a push towards energy independence and decarbonisation while replacing the ageing AGR reactors and phasing out gas and coal for electricity generation. While there is a ''de facto'' nuclear power phaseout underway in Scotland and there are plans to replace existing reactors with newly-built ones in England and Wales (sometimes using existing sites for the new reactors), no nuclear power plant has ever been built in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. EDF Energy owns and manages the five currently operating and three de-fuelling reactor sites. Four new plants are proposed to be built in the next few decades. All nuclear installations in the UK are overseen by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.


History


20th century

The
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...
(UKAEA) was established in 1954 as a statutory corporation to oversee and pioneer the development of nuclear energy within the United Kingdom. The first station to be connected to the grid, on 27 August 1956, was Calder Hall, although the production of
weapons-grade Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon and has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Plutonium and uranium in grades normally used in nuc ...
plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...
was the main reason behind this
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
. Calder Hall was the world's first nuclear power station to deliver electricity in commercial quantities (although the 5 MW "semi-experimental" reactor at
Obninsk Obninsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Protva River southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Its population is 125,376 at the 2021 census. History The history of ...
in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
was connected to the public supply in 1954). In February 1966, it was announced that the first prototype
fast breeder reactor A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be Nuclear fuel, fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and Isotopes of thorium, thorium, such as uranium-238 and t ...
in the United Kingdom would be constructed in
Dounreay Dounreay (; ) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutena ...
, Scotland, at a cost of £30million. British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was established in February 1971 from the demerger of the production division of the
UK Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...
(UKAEA). In 1984 BNFL became a
public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a limited liability co ...
, British Nuclear Fuels plc, wholly owned by the UK government. In December 1979, in the wake of the industrial disputes of the
Winter of Discontent The Winter of Discontent was the period between late September 1978 and February 1979 in the United Kingdom characterised by widespread strikes by private, and later public sector trade unions demanding pay rises greater than the limits Prime ...
and the
1979 oil crisis A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...
, the new Thatcher government announced a new long-term nuclear power programme. The existing state
National Nuclear Corporation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
would complete its existing planned second generation AGR builds, and would develop a new programme of building one Westinghouse designed
Pressurised Water Reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada). In a PWR, water is used both as ...
(PWR) per year for at least a decade from 1982 (about 15GWe in total). However, in 1981 the Select Committee on Energy and the
Monopolies and Mergers Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under UK competition law, competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competiti ...
produced reports criticising the CEGB and government's demand forecasting and investment assessment justifying the programme. From 1982, after
Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby in Leicestershire from 1974 to 1992, and served ...
replaced David Howell as
Secretary of State for Energy A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalua ...
, the government began rowing back from this large proposal, in part because the government were beginning to consider privatising the electricity industry. The Electricity Act 1989 provided for the privatisation of the electricity industry, introducing the Fossil Fuel Levy to support the nuclear power industry which was exempted from privatisation and vested in Nuclear Electric. In the end, only the Sizewell B nuclear power plant from the PWR programme was built, between 1987 and 1995. It began producing power for the national grid in February 1995. Its construction followed a four-year, 16million-word public inquiry. As of 2019 it is the most recent nuclear plant to be constructed in the United Kingdom. Sizewell B was intended to be the first of a smaller series of four new identical power stations, but the rest were dropped as uneconomic in the early 1990s when it was decided to privatise the electric power industry so low
interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...
government finance would no longer be available. A Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) was opened at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
in 1994. Construction had begun in the 1970s and cost £2.4billion. In 1996 the UK's eight most advanced nuclear plants, seven advanced gas-cooled reactors and one pressurized water reactor, were privatised as British Energy, raising £2.1billion. The remaining Magnox reactors remained in public ownership as Magnox Electric. On 30 January 1998 Magnox Electric was merged into BNFL as BNFL Magnox Generation.


21st century


2002 energy review

Margaret Beckett Margaret Mary Beckett, Baroness Beckett, (; born 15 January 1943), is a British politician. She was a member of Parliament (MP) for more than 45 years, first from 1974 to 1979 and then from 1983 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was ...
as
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for ...
rejected demands for an expansion of nuclear power from a lobby including energy minister
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
and Downing Street staff. She argued there was no need for new nuclear for at least 15 years given current energy prices and generation capacity. In relation to nuclear power, the conclusion of the Government's 2002 energy review was that: The practical measures identified were: continuing to participate in international research; ensuring that the nuclear skill-base is maintained, and that the regulators are adequately staffed to assess any new investment proposals; shortening the lead-time to commissioning, should new nuclear power be chosen in future; permitting nuclear power to benefit from the development of carbon taxes and similar market mechanisms; and addressing the problems of long-term nuclear waste disposal. It went on to state that "Because nuclear is a
mature technology A mature technology is a technology that has been in use for long enough that most of its initial faults and inherent problems have been removed or reduced by further development. In some contexts, it may also refer to technology that has not se ...
within a well-established global industry, there is no current case for further government support" and that "the decision whether to bring forward proposals for new nuclear build is a matter for the private sector".


2003 Energy White Paper

The Government's Energy White Paper, published in 2003 and titled "Our Energy Future – Creating a Low Carbon Economy" concluded that:


2006 energy review

In April 2005, advisers to
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
were suggesting that constructing new nuclear power stations would be the best way to meet the country's targets on reducing emissions of gases responsible for
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
. The energy policy of the United Kingdom has a near-term target of cutting emissions below 1997 levels by 20%, and a more ambitious target of an 80% cut by 2050. In November 2005 the Government announced an energy review, subsequently launched in January 2006, to "review the UK's progress against the medium and long-term Energy White Paper goals and the options for further steps to achieve them". Following the 2006 review the Office for Nuclear Regulation, an agency of
Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...
, developed the Generic Design Assessment process (GDA) to assess new nuclear reactor designs ahead of site-specific proposals. The GDA started assessing four designs: Westinghouse
AP1000 The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
; Areva EPR; AECL ACR-1000; and GE-Hitachi ESBWR. However the ACR-1000 and ESBWR were subsequently withdrawn from the assessment for commercial reasons, leaving the EPR and AP1000 as contenders for new nuclear builds.


2007 High Court ruling

On 15 February 2007, environmental group
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
won a High Court ruling that threw out the government's 2006 Energy Review. Mr Justice Sullivan presiding held that the government's review was "seriously flawed", in particular in that key details of the economics of the argument were only published after the review was completed. Justice Sullivan held that the review's wording on nuclear waste disposal was "not merely inadequate but also misleading", and held the decision to proceed to be "unlawful". Responding to the news, Trade and Industry Secretary
Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...
said that there would be a fresh consultation, but that a decision was required before the end of 2007. He stated that the government remains convinced that new nuclear power plants are needed to help combat climate change and over-reliance on imported oil and gas. Attention was drawn in the media to numerous connections to nuclear industry lobbyists within the Labour Party.


2007 Consultation

The 2007 Energy White Paper: ''Meeting the Energy Challenge''"2007 Energy White Paper: Meeting the Energy Challenge"
. Department of Trade and Industry. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
was published on 23 May 2007. It contained a "preliminary view ... that it is in the public interest to give the private sector the option of investing in new nuclear power stations". Alongside the White Paper the Government published a consultation document, ''The Future of Nuclear Power'',"The Future of Nuclear Power: Consultation Document"
. Department of Trade and Industry. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
together with a number of supporting documents. One of these, a report by Jackson Consulting, suggested that it would be preferable to site new power stations on existing nuclear power stations sites that are owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority or British Energy. Greenpeace responded to the release of the consultation document by repeating its position that replacing the nuclear fleet rather than decommissioning would only reduce the UK's total carbon emissions by four per cent. On 7 September 2007, several anti-nuclear groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, CND, and the WWF, announced that they had pulled out of the consultation process. They stated that it appeared as if the Government had already made up its mind regarding the future of nuclear power. The business and enterprise secretary, John Hutton, responded in a Radio 4 interview "It is not the government that has got a closed view on these issues, I think it is organisations like Greenpeace that have got a closed mind. There is only one outcome that Greenpeace and other organisations want from this consultation."


2008 go-ahead given

In January 2008, the
UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built. The
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
has made clear that it opposes new nuclear power stations being built in Scotland and has the final say on planning matters in Scotland. Liberal Democrat spokesman Steve Webb MP said on 29 January 2008 "There is a real risk that focusing on new nuclear plants will undermine attempts to find a cleaner, greener, more sustainable and secure solution. We should be concentrating our efforts on renewables and greater energy conservation." On 10 January 2008,
Alan Duncan Sir Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957) is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 2016 to 2019. A member of ...
MP issued a response to the Government's announcement on nuclear power, welcoming it and suggesting that the Conservatives supported a level economic playing field for different types of energy generation rather than a preference for one over another. Two consortia (EDF-Centrica and RWE-E.ON) had announced outline plans to build a total of 12.5GW of new nuclear capacity, slightly more than the total capacity of British Energy's currently operating plants. In 2009 government officials believed a
carbon price Carbon pricing (or pricing) is a method for governments to mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, the main driver of climat ...
floor would be needed to encourage companies to commit funds to nuclear build projects.


2009 to 2011

In 2009 (EDF), the state-owned French energy company, took over British Energy, paying £12.5 billion. In August 2009, the energy company
Centrica Centrica plc is a British  multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest suppliers ...
purchased a 20% share from EDF. A subsidiary of EDF was formed called EDF Energy. In November 2009, the Government identified ten nuclear sites which could accommodate future reactors: Bradwell in Essex; Braystones in Cumbria; Kirksanton in Cumbria;
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
in Cumbria;
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
in County Durham;
Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...
in Lancashire;
Hinkley Point Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, north of Bridgwater and west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. Excavations in 2014 and 2015, carried out by Cotswold Archaeology and fun ...
in Somerset; Oldbury in Gloucestershire; Sizewell in Suffolk; and Wylfa in North Wales. Most of these sites already have a nuclear power station; the only new sites are Braystones and Kirksanton. In October 2010, sites at Braystones, Kirksanton and Dungeness were ruled out by
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The secretary of state for energy and climate change was a British Government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his Cabi ...
Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul Huhne (born 2 July 1954) is a British energy and climate change consultant, and former journalist, business economist and politician who was the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh ...
with the former government's list of eleven potential sites reduced to eight. In 2010 the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre was created in
Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...
, South Yorkshire, led by the
University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...
with
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
, anticipating involvement in any forthcoming new nuclear builds in the UK. It was funded with £15million from the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...
and £10million from the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.


2011 to 2016

Following the 2011 Fukushima I nuclear accidents,
Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul Huhne (born 2 July 1954) is a British energy and climate change consultant, and former journalist, business economist and politician who was the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh ...
,
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The secretary of state for energy and climate change was a British Government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his Cabi ...
, wrote to Dr Mike Weightman, head of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate, on 12 March, asking for a report "on the implications of the situation and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry".Chris Huhne (12 March 2011)
"Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami: Implications for the UK Nuclear Industry"
Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...
. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
The report was to be delivered within 6 months, with an interim report by mid-May, "prepared in close cooperation with the International nuclear community and other nuclear safety regulators". On 15 March, Huhne expressed regret that some European politicians were "rushing to judgement" before assessments had been carried out, and said that it was too early to determine whether the willingness of the private sector to invest in new nuclear plants would be affected.
Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul Huhne (born 2 July 1954) is a British energy and climate change consultant, and former journalist, business economist and politician who was the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh ...
(15 March 2011). Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
"Uncorrected Evidence – Electricity Market Reform"
Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence, HC 742-vii. Retrieved 11 March 2011
In the wake of the accident the Government was criticised for having colluded with EDF Energy, Areva and Westinghouse in order to manage communications and maintain public support for nuclear power. In January 2012, the campaign group
Energy Fair Energy Fair in the United Kingdom is a group of six people leading a campaign that claims that the nuclear power industry receives unfair subsidies, consisting of: * Dörte Fouquet, senior partner of the law firm Becker Büttner Held (BBH) and Dire ...
, supported by a number of other organisations and environmentalists,http://www.energyfair.org.uk/news-releases/legal-bid "Legal bid to halt nuclear construction"
''
Energy Fair Energy Fair in the United Kingdom is a group of six people leading a campaign that claims that the nuclear power industry receives unfair subsidies, consisting of: * Dörte Fouquet, senior partner of the law firm Becker Büttner Held (BBH) and Dire ...
''. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
filed a formal complaint with the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
over alleged unlawful State aid in the form of subsidies for nuclear power industry, in breach of
European Union competition law In the European Union, competition law promotes the maintenance of competition within the European Single Market by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies to ensure that they do not create cartels and monopolies that would damage th ...
. It claims that the subsidies arise from underwriting commercial risk and decommissioning costs, protection against terrorist attacks, the disposal of nuclear waste, and by providing "institutional support" in the form of various government funded or subsidised bodies such as the
National Nuclear Laboratory The United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL, formerly National Nuclear Laboratory and earlier Nexia Solutions) is a UK government owned and operated nuclear services technology provider covering the whole of the nuclear fuel cycle. It ...
, the Nuclear Institute, and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority without providing corresponding levels of support for renewable technologies,"Nuclear Subsidies"
. ''
Energy Fair Energy Fair in the United Kingdom is a group of six people leading a campaign that claims that the nuclear power industry receives unfair subsidies, consisting of: * Dörte Fouquet, senior partner of the law firm Becker Büttner Held (BBH) and Dire ...
''. November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
without which nuclear power would not be commercially viable, so distorting the energy market. The group claims that the subsidies divert resources from renewable technologies that would "cut emissions more deeply, more quickly, more cheaply, and with none of the risks and other problems with nuclear power". In March 2012, two of the big six power companies announced they would be pulling out of developing new nuclear power plants. The decision by RWE npower and E.ON followed uncertainty over nuclear energy following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which had occurred the year before. Their decision followed a similar announcement by Scottish and Southern Electricity the previous year.
Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
purchased the
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
joint-venture, intending to build two or three 1,350MWe Advanced boiling water reactors (ABWR) at Oldbury and Wylfa. French-owned EDF, one of the two remaining consortia planning to build new nuclear plants in the UK, has indicated that the election victory of
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
will not change its plans in the UK, despite François Hollande having proposed to cut France's reliance on nuclear power generation from 75% to 50%, and despite speculation to the contrary in the UK. In 2012 Russian firm
Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (commonly referred to as Rosatom rus, Росатом, p=rosˈatəm}), also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, (), or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian State corporation (Russia), sta ...
stated that in the future it intended to certify the
VVER-1200 The water-water energetic reactor (WWER), or VVER (from ) is a series of pressurized water reactor designs originally developed in the Soviet Union, and now Russia, by OKB Gidropress. The idea of such a reactor was proposed at the Kurchatov Insti ...
with the British and U.S. regulatory authorities, though was unlikely to apply for a British licence before 2015, after having seen what agreements EDF finally reaches. In September 2013 Rosatom, in conjunction with
Fortum Fortum Oyj is a Finland, Finnish Government of Finland, state-owned energy company located in Espoo, Finland. It mainly focuses on the Nordic countries, Nordic region. Fortum operates power plants, including co-generation plants, and generate ...
and
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK government to prepare for a VVER Generic Design Assessment. In 2013, Tim Yeo, chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, stated that the government reaching an agreement over nuclear power expansion was a "matter of great urgency", and warned that Britain could run out of energy if negotiations were not concluded quickly. In the same year, a cross-party committee inquiry concluded that the UK "will not be able to meet its climate change targets without new nuclear build". A report published by the committee found that unless planned nuclear power plants are built on time, it will be "extremely challenging, if not impossible" for the country to meet its legally binding carbon reduction targets. Such a failure to build the new nuclear capacity by 2025 would also force a greater reliance on imported gas, and would affect
energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption (as opposed to household energy insecurity). Access to cheaper energy has become essential to the functioning of modern ...
. On 26 March 2013, the government published a Nuclear Industrial Strategy which in part stated that the nuclear industry had plans for about 16GWe of new nuclear power stations by 2030, which is at least 12 new nuclear reactors at five sites. A Nuclear Industry Council will be established, and a Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board will be created "to ensure that public R&D programmes are aligned to support industrial and energy policy". Public civil nuclear R&D funding for 2010–11 was £66million, which is low compared to some international competitors. The government will join the European Jules Horowitz Reactor research project. In April 2013, EDF's negotiations with the government over the strike price for nuclear produced electricity stalled. EDF's chief executive stated EDF was "in no hurry" to agree the strike price, and was unconcerned if the negotiations failed. Commentators believed it would take several months to reach a conclusion. The
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
assessed that in 2015 the UK nuclear industry directly employed about 12,400 staff, though about 9,400 of those worked at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
mostly on nuclear waste handling. In 2016 EDF and the UK government finalised the £92.50/MWh
contract for difference In finance, a contract for difference (CFD) is a financial agreement between two parties, commonly referred to as the "buyer" and the "seller." The contract stipulates that the buyer will pay the seller the difference between the current value o ...
(linked to inflation since 2012 – £128/MWh in 2022) for the building of two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C.


2020 to present

The UK's November 2020 Ten Point Plan designated "new and advanced nuclear power" as a priority, with the government committing to an investment decision for at least one major nuclear power station by the end of the parliamentary term in December 2024. In February 2023, the Prime Minister's office announced the restructuring of BEIS, resulting in the establishment of the
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a February 2023 British ...
(ESNZ) to support nuclear power expansion. By March 2023, nuclear energy had been classified as environmentally sustainable in the UK's green taxonomy, making it eligible for the same incentives as renewable energy. Additionally, the initiative ' Great British Nuclear' was set up with the goal of nuclear power contributing up to 25% of the UK's electricity by 2050.


Small modular reactor development

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
is preparing a
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
(SMR) design called the Rolls-Royce SMR, a close-coupled four-loop PWR design. Power output is 470MWe which is above the usual range considered to be a SMR. It sought UK government finance to support further development. In December 2017 the UK government provided funding of up to £56million over three years to support research and development into advanced and small nuclear reactors. In 2018 the UK SMR industry sought billions of pounds of government support to finance their putative First of a Kind projects. The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors produced a report stating that there was "a current market failure in supporting nuclear projects generally" and identifying options for government to support SMR development in the UK. The UK government, through UKRI, awarded £18million in ISCF funding to a UK-based consortium led by Rolls-Royce, with matched funding of £18million from industry. This first phase was formally concluded on 30 June 2021 and successfully developed a concept design. In November 2021, the UK government provided £210million, match funded by industry, in the second phase of development for the Rolls-Royce SMR. In 2022, the UK government launched a £120 million Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support a limited number of nuclear projects to develop design and business cases to fast-track proposals to enter a selection process in 2023. This included funding proposals for new reactor technologies to the UK such as the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300
boiling water reactor A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR). BWR are thermal neutro ...
and
X-energy X-energy is a private American nuclear reactor and fuel design engineering company. It is developing a Generation IV reactor, Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled Pebble bed modular reactor, pebble-bed nuclear reactor design. It has receiv ...
Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. In 2023, the UK government formed Great British Nuclear to oversee its policy, operating through British Nuclear Fuels Ltd in the Greater Manchester area, which includes a competitive choice of SMR suppliers for the UK. GE-Hitachi's BWRX-300 was announced in April 2023 as one of the competitors to the Rolls-Royce SMR. However the full remit of Great British Nuclear, which was announced by the Boris Johnson government in 2022, still needs to be decided by the Rishi Sunak government including its budget and if eventually it will be a nuclear plant operator. In July 2023, Energy Secretary
Grant Shapps Sir Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet posts, including Chairman of ...
said he was launching an international competition to select up to four different SMR technologies "to go through to the final design stage", supported by up to £157 million of funding. He said the final investment decision will be taken by the next parliament, and UK SMRs might start operating by the 2030s. Six technologies were selected for consideration, EDF NUWARD, GE Hitachi BWRX-300, Holtec International SMR-160+, NuScale Power, Rolls-Royce SMR and the Westinghouse AP300. After the six companies have submitted their tender responses, Great British Nuclear will place between one and four co-funding contracts later in 2024 to support the development and regulatory approval process, to prepare bids for a final investment decision in 2029. The cancellation for cost reasons in November 2023 of the first commercial SMR deployment in the U.S., using NuScale SMRs, has however cast doubt over whether SMRs in the UK would be economic. In January 2024, GE-Hitachi was awarded a grant of £33.6 million from the UK Government's Future Nuclear Enabling Fund. This grant was provided to support the company's plans to undergo the GDA process for its BWRX-300 SMR, which has a capacity of 300 MWe. In February 2025, four vendors were invited by the UK government to submit final tenders for their designs: GE Hitachi BWRX-300, Holtec SMR-300, Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse AP300. All these are based on existing technologies, with the BWRX-300 and AP300 being scaled down versions of existing large designs. A final investment decision is expected in 2029.


Brexit negotiations to 2021

On 26 January 2017, the UK notified the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) of its intention to withdraw, following on from its decision to withdraw from the European Union. Leaving will have wide-ranging implications for Britain's nuclear industry, including regulation and research, access to nuclear materials and impacts about twenty nuclear co-operation agreements with non-EU countries. The UK withdrawal might raise the question of nuclear fuel availability after 2019 in the UK, and the need for the UK to enter into new treaties relating to the transportation of nuclear materials. In 2018, the National College for Nuclear opened two hubs at Bridgwater and Taunton College and Lakes College largely funded by £22.5million from the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...
, intended to service the building and operation of new build nuclear power plants. In November 2018, the UK ratified the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) framework international collaboration agreement for research and development of Generation IV nuclear reactors. In 2019,
Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
sold its nuclear business, mostly decommissioning work at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
, for £250million to the US
Jacobs Engineering Group Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm based in Dallas. The company provides engineering, technical, professional, and construction services as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a ...
, which has a global nuclear business. In 2020, Energy Systems Catapult analysis suggested new 10GW nuclear power in order to achieve
net zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
emissions by 2050. In June 2020, Zion Lights, former spokesperson of Extinction Rebellion UK, declared her support for nuclear energy as a critical part of the
energy mix The energy mix is a group of different primary energy, primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and ...
along with renewable energy sources and called fellow environmentalists to accept that nuclear power is part of the "scientifically assessed solutions for addressing climate change". In 2020, nuclear power generated 46
terawatt hour A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a commo ...
s (TWh) of UK electricity, just over 15% of gross electricity generation, and about half its 1998 peak of 91TWh. In June 2021, EDF announced that Dungeness B would move into the defuelling phase with immediate effect, citing "station-specific risks within some key components, including parts within the fuel assemblies" identified since September 2018. As of 2021, the British government's attitude to the involvement of China in British nuclear power had changed following worsening of
China–United Kingdom relations Chinese–United Kingdom relations ( zh, t=中英關係, s=中英关系, p=Zhōng-Yīng guānxì), more commonly known as British–Chinese relations, Anglo-Chinese relations and Sino-British relations, are the interstate relations between Chin ...
, and it was exploring ways to block Chinese involvement, finance and their Bradwell B new nuclear development. On 31 January 2020, the UK formally withdrew from the European Union (EU) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) following a national referendum and parliamentary approval. In response, the UK secured new nuclear cooperation agreements with Australia, the United States, Canada, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...
(IAEA). Additionally, the UK entered into a nuclear cooperation agreement with the EU in December 2020, effective from 1 January 2021.


Regulated Asset Base financing model

Following the abandonment of three large new nuclear developments at Moorside in 2018, and Wylfa Newydd and Oldbury B in 2020, primarily because the developers were unable to attract finance for the developments, the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in October 2021. It enabled the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) financing model to be used for new nuclear, whereby consumers finance a portion of the capital costs during the construction period rather than the developers, which will reduce the cost of loans and other financing. Consumers would not receive a financial return from their contributions, but would benefit later by having access to the electricity provided by the plant. The Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022 came into force on 31 March 2022. The power and utilities executive at
Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
bank described the RAB model as providing "a high level of certainty and confidence and predictability for investors" and "structured to produce attractive, stable, low-risk and inflation-linked returns at scale". A Government Support Package would be provided to give investors protection from specified low probability but high impact risks that the private sector would not be able to bear including the risk of cost overrun above a remote threshold, disruption to debt markets, some risks for which insurance is not available, and political risks. As part of the 2022 British energy security strategy policy paper, it was announced that nuclear-generating capacity would increase from 7GW to 24GW by 2050 and the establishment of a new nuclear development agency named Great British Nuclear. Security concerns about China also caused the government to buy China General Nuclear Power Group out of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station development for just over £100 million in late 2022, leaving it co-owned by EDF and the UK government. On 7 January 2022, Hunterston B was closed and moved into defuelling earlier than planned due to cracks in the graphite bricks in the reactors. In 2023, the civil nuclear sector in the UK employed about 77,400 people, of which 9,500 were involved with the Hinkley Point C new build. In March 2023, EDF announced that the operational life of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations would be extended a further two years until March 2026.


Power stations


Operating

Between 2006 and 2013, Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B were restricted to about 70% of normal MWe output because of boiler-related problems requiring that they operate at reduced boiler temperatures. In 2013, these two stations' power increased to about 80% of normal output following some plant modifications. In 2010, EDF announced a five-year life extension for both Heysham 1 and Hartlepool to enable further generation until 2024. As of 2012, EDF expected seven-year life extensions on average across all AGRs, including the recently life-extended Heysham 1 and Hartlepool. A 20-year life extension is the strategic target for the Sizewell B PWR. These life extensions are subject to detailed review and approval, and are not included in the table above. Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B were given seven-year life extensions in December 2012, from 2016 to 2023. Hartlepool had a five-year life extension in November 2013, from 2019 to 2024. In November 2020, EDF announced that Hinkley Point B will stop generating electricity and move into the defuelling phase no later than 15 June 2022. In December 2021, EDF announced that the closure dates for Heysham 2 and Torness were to be brought forward from 2030 to March 2028. In March 2023, EDF announced that the closure dates for Heysham 1 and Hartlepool would be extended until March 2026. In March 2024, reports highlighted that EDF Energy expects to extend the operational life of Sizewell B by 20 years, aiming for a total lifespan of 60 years, comparable to similar US Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). This expectation is based on the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR)'s approval of Sizewell B's ten-year periodic safety review (PSR) in January 2015, which allows the reactor to continue operations until the next PSR in 2025. In December 2024, in response to concerns about energy security following further delays to Hinkley Point C, EDF announced life extension of two years for Heysham 2 and Torness, and one year for Heysham 1 and Hartlepool. EDF also stated that they hoped to extend the life of Sizewell B by 20 years to 2055.


Retired

A number of research and development reactors also produced some power for the grid, including two
Winfrith Winfrith Atomic Energy Establishment, or AEE Winfrith, was a United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority site near Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset. It covered an area on Winfrith Heath to the west of the village of Wool between the A352 road and the ...
reactors, two
Dounreay Dounreay (; ) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutena ...
fast reactors, and the prototype Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor.


Economics


History

The history of nuclear energy economics in the UK is complex. The first Magnox reactors were not built for purely commercial purposes, and later reactors faced delays which inflated costs (culminating in Sizewell B taking seven years from start of construction to entering service, after a lengthy public inquiry). Costs have also been complicated by the lack of national strategy or policy for spent nuclear fuel, so that a mixed use of reprocessing and short-term storage have been employed, with little regard for long-term considerations (although a national repository has been proposed). There is a lack of consensus in the UK about the cost/benefit nature of nuclear energy, as well as ideological influence (for instance, those favouring 'energy security' generally arguing pro, while those worried about the 'environmental impact' against). Because of this, and a lack of a consistent energy policy in the UK since the mid-1990s, no new reactors have been built since Sizewell B in 1995. Costs have been a major influence to this, while the long lead-time between proposal and operation (at ten years or more) has put off many investors, especially with long-term considerations such as energy market regulation and nuclear waste remaining unresolved. Sizewell B was in 1995 expected to generate electricity at 3.5p/kWh (2000 prices, which is equivalent to £/MWh in ), however a post-startup evaluation estimated generating cost was about 6p/kWh (2000 prices, equivalent to £/MWh in ), excluding first-of-kind costs and using an 8% discount rate for the cost of capital.


Future power stations

From 2010 until 2015, it was UK Government policy that the construction of any new nuclear power stations in the UK would be led and financed by the private sector. This transfers the running and immediate concerns to the operator, while reducing (although not eliminating) government participation and long-term involvement/liability (nuclear waste, as involving government policy, will likely remain a liability, even if only a limited one). In 2010 ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that additional incentives, such as capacity payments and supplier nuclear obligations, would be needed to persuade companies to build nuclear plants in the UK. The government decided to subsidize nuclear power again in 2015. When the rest of the UK generating industry was
privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...
, the Government introduced the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation, initially as a means of supporting the nuclear generators, which remained under state ownership until the formation of British Energy. British Energy, the private sector company that operated the UK's more modern nuclear plants, came close to bankruptcy and in 2004 was restructured with UK government investment of over £3billion, although this has since been paid back in full. In January 2009, British Energy was bought for approximately £12billion by EDF Energy (a subsidiary of
Électricité de France Électricité de France SA (; ), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational corporation, multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France. Headquartered in Paris, with €139.7 billion in sales in 2023, EDF ope ...
(EDF)) and
Centrica Centrica plc is a British  multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest suppliers ...
(a major operator of CCGT power stations and renewable sources in the UK and parent company of British Gas) in an 80/20 split. In January 2008, the UK government indicated that it would take steps to encourage private operators to build new nuclear power plants in the following years to meet projected energy needs. The government stated that there would be no subsidies for nuclear power. The Government hoped that the first station would be operational before 2020. However, the Welsh Government remains opposed to new nuclear plants in Wales despite the approval of Wylfa as a potential site.
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
has decided against new nuclear power stations. In May 2008, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' reported that Wulf Bernotat, chairman and chief executive of E.ON, had stated that the cost of each new nuclear power plant in the UK could be as high as €6billion (£4.8billion), much higher than the Government's estimate of £2.8billion. The cost of replacing Britain's ten nuclear power stations could therefore reach £48billion, excluding the cost of decommissioning ageing reactors or dealing with
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
.Alt URL
/ref> On 29 March 2012, E.ON and RWE npower, which had formed the joint venture
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
to build NPPs in the United Kingdom, announced that they would not develop new nuclear power projects in the UK, focusing instead on shorter term investments, and were looking to find another company to take over Horizon. On 29 October 2012 it was announced that
Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
would buy Horizon for about £700million. Hitachi intend to build two or three 1,350MWe Advanced boiling water reactors (ABWR) at Oldbury and Wylfa, but will first require a ''Generic Design Assessment'' for the ABWR design by the Office for Nuclear Regulation, which will take about four years. In June 2012, in research commissioned by EDF, the
Institute for Public Policy Research The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a Progressivism, progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 by Clive Hollick, Baron Hollick, Lord Hollick and John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, Lord Eatwell, and is an independen ...
suggested that building 18GW of new nuclear energy capacity in the UK, with more than 10 new reactors, could create between 16,250 and 21,250 additional jobs, and enable the UK to compete in the international market for nuclear energy. The
Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...
also published a report stating that nuclear energy is a "clean, cheap and safe" way of generating electricity, with 84% of its members in favour of new nuclear power in Britain. However, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' reported the cost of building each EPR had increased to £7billion, which
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
analysts did not regard as commercially viable, projecting a generation cost of 16.6p/kWh for private-sector financed reactors. On 21 October 2013, EDF Energy announced that an agreement had been reached regarding new nuclear plants to be built on the site of Hinkley Point C. EDF Group and the UK Government agreed on the key commercial terms of the investment contract. The final investment decision was still conditional on completion of the remaining key steps, including the agreement of the EU Commission. In 2015, the UK government proposed to provide large subsidies to the Hinkley Point C plant, paying twice the market rate for electricity. A 2015 model-based study compares renewables plus storage, nuclear, and
fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...
with and without
carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial installations is separated before it is released into the atmosphere, then transported to a long-term storage location.IPCC, 2021Annex VII: Glossary at ...
. The study finds that, for the scenarios considered, costs were similar at about at up to 50% renewables and rose for renewables above an 80% share as grid-scale storage, imports, and tidal range generation were applied.
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
is preparing a
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
(SMR) design called the Rolls-Royce SMR, a close-coupled four-loop PWR design. Power output is 440MWe which is above the usual range considered to be a SMR. As of 2017 Rolls-Royce was seeking UK government finance to support further development. In 2018, the UK government announced £56million of spending to fund initial SMR research and development for eight companies. In 2017, a consensus of government and industry developed that the Contract for Difference financing model used for Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, involving fully private sector financing, may not used for subsequent nuclear plants, and discussions with government are under way about alternative finance mechanisms for the following possible development at Wylfa by Horizon Nuclear Power for parent
Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
. However, on 17 January 2019, Horizon announced that it was suspending its UK nuclear development programme. The UK government had been willing to take a one-third equity stake in the project, to consider providing all the required debt financing, and to provide a
Contract for Difference In finance, a contract for difference (CFD) is a financial agreement between two parties, commonly referred to as the "buyer" and the "seller." The contract stipulates that the buyer will pay the seller the difference between the current value o ...
for the electricity generated at up to £75/MWh for 35 years.
Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2016 to 2019. He also was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2015 t ...
, minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, stated this was a "generous package of potential support that goes beyond what any government has been willing to consider in the past". However this did not provide an adequate "economic rationality as a private enterprise" for Hitachi to proceed. In April 2020, a director of Horizon Nuclear Power stated that the future of next two nuclear builds, Wylfa and Oldbury, depended on the government accepting the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) financial assistance model rather than the existing
Contract for Difference In finance, a contract for difference (CFD) is a financial agreement between two parties, commonly referred to as the "buyer" and the "seller." The contract stipulates that the buyer will pay the seller the difference between the current value o ...
support mechanism, which would allow developers to need less upfront private finance with some finance backed through end consumer bills. On 2 June 2020, EDF Energy announced that it had submitted a development consent order to the UK government prior to starting construction on the Sizewell C site in Suffolk. However EDF have yet to organise financing, and cannot take on more construction risk in the UK. EDF is looking to the UK government to assist on financing either by offering a Regulated Asset Base model, though that puts an immediate cost burden on end consumers, or through other approaches such as a government equity stake in the development. On 30 June, EDF announced that it had applied to the Office for Nuclear Regulation for a licence to build and operate Sizewell C. On 24 September 2020, when Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
was asked about new technology in the UK's fight against climate change, he reaffirmed support for nuclear power in the UK, by saying to the BBC, "I do think nuclear has to be part of the mix", whilst also saying that the UK can be the "Saudi Arabia of wind power".


List

Proposed nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom, with currently shelved proposals in italics, are: Two other sites,
Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...
and
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, were identified as possible locations in 2010 but no commercial proposals were made for these sites.


Moorside clean energy hub

Following the cancellation of the Moorside project by Toshiba, on 30 June 2020 EDF announced proposals to construct an EPR on the site. This would be a near replica of Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C in order to reduce the overall costs of the project. The plans come as a part of a proposed clean energy hub for the area which is backed by 14 other companies and trade unions including the UK construction firm Balfour Beatty and the union Unite. The consortium claims that 25,000 jobs will be created with the construction of the hub. The hub is also aiming to use existing nuclear supply chains within the area and also be the site of SMRs and AMRs in the future.


Sizewell C

The project has completed its stage 4 consultation, which is allowing EDF to submit its planning application which is expected to be at the start of 2020, before a decision is made on the plant's future in 2020. After this, construction was expected to start around 2021, with an accelerated timeline due to the replication of the Hinkley Point C power plant on the site, but no progress had occurred by 2024. On 27 May 2020, EDF energy put in a development consent order application, prior to the start of construction at the site.


Waste management and disposal

The UK has a large variety of different intermediate- and high-level radioactive wastes, coming from national programmes to develop
nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
and nuclear power. It is a national responsibility to pay for the management of these. In addition, new nuclear power stations could be built, the waste management from which would be the private sector's financial responsibility, although all would be stored in a single facility. Most of the UK's higher-activity
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
is currently held in temporary storage at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
. , the 60-years long nuclear programme produced of high-level waste. The UK has approximately 70,000tonnes of irradiated
graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
, mainly as moderator in Magnox and AGR reactors. Most of its radioactivity will have decayed away 60–70 years after reactor closure, but its
carbon-14 Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
content is a long-term radiological hazard which can be released in gaseous form making it a large volume intermediate-level waste. Research on how to handle this waste is ongoing, which will lead to an informed decision on management. On 31 July 2006, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), published its final report on long-term waste management. Its main recommendation was that geological disposal should be adopted. This would involve burial of high-level waste at deep in a purpose-built facility with no intention to retrieve the waste in the future. It was concluded that this could not be implemented for several decades, and that there were "social and ethical concerns within UK society about the disposal option that would need to be resolved as part of the implementation process". Such a repository should start to be closed as soon as practicable rather than being left open for future generations. Fourteen additional recommendations were also made. On 12 June 2008, a white paper, ''Managing Radioactive Waste Safely, A Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal'' was published confirming CoRWM's conclusion of geologic disposal of higher-activity wastes. The policy announcement confirmed that there would be one geologic disposal site, for both national legacy waste as well as potential wastes from future programmes. It announced that a process of volunteerism would be used in selecting a suitable site and invited communities from the UK to express interest. They would be rewarded by the infrastructure investment for the facility, jobs for the long term and a tailored package of benefits. In January 2014, the building of the first dry spent PWR nuclear fuel store in the UK began at Sizewell B, where the existing
spent fuel pool Spent fuel pools (SFP) are storage pools (or "ponds" in the United Kingdom) for spent fuel from nuclear reactors. They are typically 40 or more feet (12 m) deep, with the bottom 14 feet (4.3 m) equipped with storage racks designed to hold ...
, which stores spent fuel under water, was expected to reach full capacity in 2015. It is intended to enable
spent nuclear fuel Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and ...
produced from 2016 until at least 2035 to be stored at Sizewell B until a
deep geological repository A deep geological repository is a way of storing hazardous or radioactive waste within a stable geologic environment, typically 200–1,000 m below the surface of the earth. It entails a combination of waste form, waste package, engineered seals ...
is available. In March 2017, the first cask containing spent nuclear fuel was installed. In 2023, UK Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), launched in January 2022, began studies to evaluate sites that could be suitable for a geological disposal facility in locally-agreed community partnerships areas in
Allerdale Allerdale was a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with Borough status in England and Wales, borough status. Its council – Allerdale Borough Council – was based in Workington, and the borough had a population of 96,422 at the ...
and Copeland in Cumbria near the Sellafield plant, and in Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire. After any site is selected, it would take 10–15 years for further detailed investigative work.


Decommissioning


Responsibility

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), formed in April 2005 under the Energy Act 2004, oversees and manages the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's older Magnox power plants and the reprocessing facilities at
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
, which were transferred to its ownership from BNFL, and the former nuclear research and development facilities previously run by the UKAEA.


Sites

In August 2005, the following sites were listed for decommissioning: * Berkeley, Gloucestershire * Bradwell, Essex * Calder Hall, Cumbria * Capenhurst, Cheshire * Chapelcross, Dumfriesshire * Culham, Oxfordshire * Dounreay, Caithness * Drigg, Cumbria * Dungeness, Kent * Harwell, Oxfordshire * Hinkley Point, Somerset * Hunterston, Ayrshire * Oldbury, Gloucestershire * Sellafield / Windscale, Cumbria * Sizewell, Suffolk * Springfields, Lancashire * Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd * Winfrith, Dorset * Wylfa, Isle of Anglesey


Costs

Prior to the 2002
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
''Managing the Nuclear Legacy'', the cost of decommissioning these facilities had been estimated at around £42billion. The white paper estimated the costs at £48billion at March 2002 prices, an increase of £6bn, with the cost of decommissioning
Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
accounting for over 65% of the total.Managing the Nuclear Legacy
, page 18, Department of Trade and Industry, published 4 July 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2008
This figure included a rise in BNFL's estimated decommissioning liabilities from £35billion to £40.5billion, with an estimate of £7.4billion for UKAEA. In June 2003, the Department of Trade and Industry estimated that decommissioning costs, including the cost of running the facilities still in operation for their remaining life, were approximately £56billion at 2003 prices, although the figure was 'almost certainly' expected to rise.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Taking forward decommissioning
page 18, National Audit Office, published 30 January 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008
This estimate was revised in subsequent years; to £57billion in September 2004; £63billion in September 2005; £65billion in March 2006; and to £73billion in March 2007.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Taking forward decommissioning
National Audit Office, published 30 January 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008
Around £46billion of the £73billion is for the decommissioning and clean-up of the Sellafield site.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Taking forward decommissioning
page 38, National Audit Office, published 30 January 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008
In May 2008 a senior director at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority indicated that the figure of £73billion might increase by several billion pounds. In 2019, the cost was given as £129billion. In addition to The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's costs, British Energy's liabilities in relation to spent nuclear fuels have risen. In February 2006, it was reported that these had increased to £5.3billion, an increase of almost £1billion. The costs of handling these is to be met by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), the successor to the Nuclear Generation Decommissioning Fund. Although British Energy contributes to the NLF, the fund is underwritten by the Government. The
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
noted in 2007 that British Energy may lack an incentive to reduce the eventual liabilities falling to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund.


Safety


Seismicity

Until the expansion of nuclear power in the 1980s, seismic activity in the UK had not received a great deal of attention.Seismicity and Earthquake Hazard in the UK
Roger Musson,
British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...
, published 25 June 2003. Retrieved 28 March 2011
As a result of the new interest in the topic, in 1994 the
British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...
published a catalogue of earthquakes. Although earthquakes are relatively frequent, they rarely cause damage to well-constructed structures. Two of the largest, estimated at 5.75 (moderate) on the
Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
occurred in 1382 and 1580. Evaluation of past earthquakes indicates that the UK is unlikely to be subject to earthquakes larger than a magnitude of approximately 6.5. The occurrence of
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
s impacting the UK is rare, with only two (possibly three) having been identified; a high wave as a result of the
1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...
, and a high tsunami in 6100 BC which occurred under very different geological conditions (
Storegga Slide The three Storegga Slides () are amongst the largest known submarine landslides. They occurred at the edge of Norway's continental shelf in the Norwegian Sea, approximately 6225–6170 BCE. The collapse involved an estimated length of coastal s ...
). In recent years there has been an accumulation of evidence indicating that the 1607 Bristol Channel floods may also have resulted from a tsunami that rose from a height of to over as it passed up the channel. A 2005 report for DEFRA, conducted following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, found that, discounting 'exotic events such as
meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
impacts', 'in most plausible circumstances it is likely that such an event would be contained by current defences, designed to resist storm surges, for all major developed areas', however the joint occurrence of events, such as a tsunami coinciding with a storm surge, was discounted. The report did, however call for additional more detailed modelling to be carried out, recommended that the
Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
should provide a tsunami warning service, and that detection devices should be upgraded. A follow-up report indicated that, of the three likely scenarios modelled, a Lisbon-type event would pose the greatest danger, potentially resulting in a tsunami wave exceeding the 1:100-year extreme sea level at the Cornish peninsula by up to , but being within the range elsewhere. This conclusion is markedly different from the greater heights calculated by Bryant and Haslett as having been encountered in the Bristol Channel during the 1607 Bristol Channel floods. Speaking before the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee on 15 March 2011, about the Fukushima I nuclear accidents, Energy and Climate Change Minister
Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul Huhne (born 2 July 1954) is a British energy and climate change consultant, and former journalist, business economist and politician who was the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh ...
expressed concern over extreme weather events in the UK, but stated that 'we are lucky that we do not have to suffer from tsunamis'.


Accidents


Security

The
Civil Nuclear Constabulary The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Heddlu Sifil Niwclear'') is a Special police#United Kingdom, special police force responsible for providing law enforcement agency, law enforcement and security at any relevant nuclea ...
is responsible for security at civil nuclear sites, within of site boundaries, and for nuclear materials in transit. The UK is involved in the Nuclear Security Summit series of world summits held since 2010. During 2016 the UK and the US staged a training exercise simulating a
cyber-attack A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the CIA triad, confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content. The rising dependence on increasingly comple ...
on a nuclear power station.


Public opinion and protests

In the early 1990s, concern was raised in the United Kingdom about the effect of
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...
s on unborn children, when clusters of
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
cases were discovered nearby to some of these plants. The effect was speculative because clusters were also found where no nuclear plants were present, and not all plants had clusters around them. Detailed studies carried out by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) in 2003 found no evidence of raised childhood cancer around nuclear power plants, but did find an excess of
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
and
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...
(NHL) near other nuclear installations including Sellafield, AWE Burghfield and UKAEA
Dounreay Dounreay (; ) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutena ...
. COMARE's opinion is that "the excesses around Sellafield and Dounreay are unlikely to be due to chance, although there is not at present a convincing explanation for them". An opinion poll in Britain in 2002 by MORI on behalf of
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
showed large support for
wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...
and a majority for putting an end to nuclear energy if the costs were the same. In November 2005, a
YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
poll conducted by business advisory firm
Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...
found that 36% of the UK population supported the use of nuclear power, though 62% would support an energy policy that combines nuclear along with renewable technologies. The same survey also revealed high public expectations for the future rate of renewables development – with 35% expecting the majority of electricity to come from renewables in only 15 years, which is more than double the government's expectation. In the early 2000s, there was a heated discussion about
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
, leading to the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (see above). A large nationally representative 2010 British survey about energy issues found that public opinion is divided on the issue of nuclear power. The majority of people are concerned about nuclear power and public trust in the government and nuclear industry remains relatively low. The survey showed that there is a clear preference for
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
sources over nuclear power. According to a national opinion poll, support for nuclear power in the UK dropped by twelve per cent following the 2011
Fukushima nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which ...
. However, support recovered within a few months. In October 2011, more than 200 protesters blockaded the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site. Members of several anti-nuclear groups that are part of the Stop New Nuclear alliance barred access to the site in protest at EDF Energy's plans to renew the site with two new reactors. In January 2012, three hundred
anti-nuclear The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...
protesters took to the streets of
Llangefni ; ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales. At the 2011 census, Llangefni's population was 5,116, making it the second-largest town in the county and the largest on the island. The community includes the village of Rhosmeirch. Location The ...
, against plans to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa. The march was organised by a number of organisations, including Pobl Atal Wylfa B, Greenpeace and Cymdeithas yr Iaith, which are supporting farmer Richard Jones who is in dispute with Horizon. In July 2012, a YouGov poll reported that 63% of UK respondents agreed that nuclear generation should be part of the country's energy mix, up from 61% in 2010. Opposition fell to 11%.UK popular support for nuclear power rises -poll
,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
. (2 July 2012).
In February 2013, a YouGov poll published in the ''Sunday Times'' found that nuclear was the most popular choice to provide for Britain's future energy needs. In February 2013, a poll published by Ipsos MORI which queried 1046 British individuals determined that support for new nuclear generation capacity was at 42%, with the proportion opposed to new nuclear generation being reported as unchanged at 20%, close to the lowest recorded proportion, by the agency in 2010, of 19% opposed. The results also report that the proportion that was undecided or neutral had increased, and it stood at 38%. In 2013, a survey by Harris Interactive of more than 2,000 UK respondents found that 'one in four people (24%) considered nuclear power to offer the greatest potential' alongside solar (23%) and ahead of wind power (18%). Immediately following the announcement of the agreement between EDF and the UK government, 35% considered it to be a positive step, 21% felt it was a negative development and 28% were indifferent. The
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
programme postulates that "nuclear power, coal and incineration of waste will be phased out" (EN014), although this position is debated within the party, as a significant group of members called for review of the policy, which they consider anti-scientific and "irrational" and consider introduction of zero-emission nuclear power, along with renewable energy sources, to be a critical instrument for mitigation of climate change. In a 2021
YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
poll, 65% of those surveyed said nuclear power should play a role in the country's climate policy and 12% expressed strong anti-nuclear sentiment, while 46% were aware that nuclear power is a low-carbon energy source.


Nuclear power in Scotland

Though the
UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
has recently given the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built, the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
has made clear that no new nuclear power stations will be built in Scotland and is aiming instead for a non-nuclear future. This was made clear when
First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...
said there was 'no chance' of any new nuclear power stations being built in Scotland. In 2008, the Scottish Government's stance was backed by the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
that voted 63–58 to support the Scottish Government's policy of opposing new nuclear power stations.


See also

* Anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom *
Nuclear energy in Ireland The Single Electricity Market encompassing the entire island of Ireland does not, and has never, produced any electricity from nuclear power stations. The production of electricity for the Irish national grid (Eirgrid), by nuclear fission, is pr ...
*
Nuclear energy policy Nuclear energy policy is a national and international policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle, such as uranium mining, ore concentration, conversion, enrichment for nuclear fuel, generating electric ...
* Nuclear or Not? *
Politics of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which, by legislation and convention, operates as a unitary parliamentary democracy. A hereditary monarch, currently King Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of th ...


References


Further reading

* Hogg, Jonathan, and Kate Brown
"Social and cultural histories of British nuclear mobilisation since 1945."
'' Contemporary British History'' 33.2 (2019): 161–169. * Peoples, Columba
"New nuclear, new security? Framing security in the policy case for new nuclear power in the United Kingdom."
''
Security Dialogue ''Security Dialogue'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes scholarly articles which combine contemporary theoretical analysis with challenges to public policy across a wide-ranging field of security studies. The journal is owned by th ...
'' 45.2 (2014): 156–173. * Taylor, Simon. ''The Fall and Rise of Nuclear Power in Britain: A History'' (2016)


External links


Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom – World Nuclear Association (Updated 14 July 2016)


House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
column WA232, 24 February 2005
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management

BBC News Special – Nuclear Power in the UK


Robert Hawley – former CEO of Nuclear Electric and British Energy,
World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Association is the international organization that promotes nuclear power and supports the companies that comprise the global nuclear industry. Its members come from all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining ...
Annual Symosium 2006
Histories and memories
Ray Hall – former CEO of Magnox Electric, Nuclear Energy, April 2002, pages 107–120
Going Critical: An Unofficial History of British Nuclear Power
Walter C. Patterson, Paladin, 1985,
Nuclear in the UK – where did it go wrong?
Steve Kidd, Nuclear Engineering International, 26 August 2009 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom Electric power generation in the United Kingdom *