The U.K. currently has fifteen operating nuclear power reactors supplying about twenty percent of their electricity. Half of these plants will be permanently shut down and decommissioned by 2025 because they will have reached the end of their licensed lifespan. The U.K. will also be closing coal-fired power plants to reduce carbon emissions. New nuclear power plants are planned for Hinkley Point, Wylffa, Sizewell, Bradwell and Oldbury. The U.K. has plans to have sixteen gigawatts of new generating capacity online by 2030. If these planned nuclear power plants are not online and operating by 2030, there could be a serious shortfall in the electricity supply in the U.K.
I have devoted a lot of blog posts to the Hinkley Point C project in the U.K. There have been numerous problems with the project including financing, technology, political issues, etc. After long delays to deal with these problems, contracts have finally been signed and the project is moving forward. The two reactors for Hinkley Point C are a new design. Another reactor of the new European Pressurized Reactor design is being built in France and it is behind schedule. This may be an indication of trouble ahead for the Hinkley Point C project.
Toshiba, a Japanese company which builds nuclear power reactors, has been involved in the NuGen consortium in the U.K. to build a nuclear power reactor in Moorside. Toshiba is in serious financial difficulty and is taking a multibillion-dollar write-down on their nuclear division. There are reports that Toshiba is considering selling its nuclear subsidiary and getting out of the nuclear business altogether. Engie, a French company, is another member of the NuGen consortium and there are reports that they have wanted to get out of the Moorside project for a long time. With two members of the consortium pulling out, the loss of funding for the project may result in its cancellation.
Toshiba and Engie have been looking for other investors to take over supplying funds and nuclear expertise for the Moorside project. Kepco, the South Korean nuclear power company, is a possible replacement for Toshiba and Engie. There have been calls for the U.K. government to work on getting Kepco into the Moorside project.
There have also been calls for the U.K. government to directly fund the Moorside project. In the past, such direct involvement in energy projects has been rejected, partly because of rules that the European Union has about such state financing. With the U.K. getting ready to leave the E.U., E.U. rules will no longer bind the U.K. and they will be free to invest government money if they choose.
The trade unions in the U.K. are also concerned about the nuclear power construction program. In addition to the jobs that will be created for the construction of the planned reactors, there is also the concern that if the nuclear projects fail, the U.K. may be left without sufficient electricity to allow industries to continue to operate at full capacity.
It might be advisable for the U.K. to seriously consider moving from reliance on nuclear power to other low-carbon sources such as wind and solar. Their nuclear plans do not seem to be going well.
