August 27 marks 65 years since the UK connected the first commercial nuclear power station in the world, Calder Hall, to the national grid. The NIA said since Calder Hall began operations in 1956, nuclear power has saved the UK over 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, far more than any other electricity source. The saving is equivalent to all UK emissions from 2015 to 2020.
However, the NIA warned that most of the UK nuclear fleet of 15 commercial reactors – which supply about 15% of the country’s electricity generation – will retire in the next two and a half years. Only one current station – the pressurised water reactor at Sizewell B – will remain in commercial by 2030, although two new units are under construction at Hinkley Point C.
“Without new investment, the UK will lose the critical skills base that has sustained the industry, emissions will rise, and fresh solutions for clean power, clean hydrogen and clean heat will be closed off,” the NIA said.
NIA chief executive Tom Greatrex said the government urgently needs to introduce a new financing model for nuclear, so “we can build new stations and seize the opportunities of a green economy for the next generation”.
In July the Financial Times reported that ministers in the UK were in the process of drawing up legislation that will allow the construction of two EPR units at Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England through the use of a regulated asset base (RAB) financing scheme.
The nuclear industry has longed called for the introduction of a RAB scheme for new nuclear.
The RAB model encourages investment in major infrastructure projects by delivering reliable returns, at a reduced rate, before a plant is operational. This reduces the need for large-scale, long-term borrowing at high interest rates, which significantly increases the cost of power.