Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     EDF said its goal is to help restore U.K. nuclear output back above sixty terawatts per annum by replacing the existing AGR fleet capacity through the installation of new EPRs at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and extending Sizewell B out to 2055.
     EDF added, “Beyond this major commitment, we will continue to support government and industry with any plans to deliver a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs), further large-scale nuclear at Wylfa and elsewhere and investment in advanced technologies. In line with the U.K. government strategy, EDF has continued to explore options for the long-term future of our sites. We are open in terms of which designs are taken forward at our sites and look forward to the government’s revised nuclear roadmap and further direction on which technologies should be developed on which sites as part of a holistic UK new build program.”
     At the same time as EDF Energy released its annual nuclear fleet update, a new report was published by independent consultants Economic Insight highlighting the significant contribution that nuclear energy has made to economic growth in the U.K. over the last fifty years.
     The new report was commissioned by EDF. It shows that the current fleet of eight nuclear power plants have so far contributed more than one hundred fifty-three billion dollars to the U.K. economy since the two oldest plants started operating in 1976.
     The report said that the fleet supported thirty thousand jobs each year when all eight plants were generating. Five thousand of those jobs have been directly with EDF. The majority of the jobs came through supply chain and other induced impacts, like hospitality businesses supported by local wages. That means that there was an average of five point three additional jobs in the U.K. economy for every EDF job.
    The positive impact on the U.K. supply chain is also highlighted with a finding that more than ninety percent of supply chain spending is made domestically, with around fifteen hundred U.K.-based companies.
     The report also employed a new methodology for calculating the carbon the nuclear plants have prevented from entering the atmosphere. Instead of comparing the nuclear output with gas generation alone, the report examines the historical energy mix, when coal was the prevailing fuel. This reveals that the two thousand one hundred and twenty-six terawatts of electricity the nuclear fleet has generated has prevented the emission of one billion tons of carbon, the equivalent to sixty years of U.K. car emissions.
     Mark Hartley is the Managing Director of EDF’s Nuclear Operations business. He said, “Nuclear power stations do not just produce zero-carbon electricity, they have supported tens of thousands of livelihoods for decades. This is the first time the economic impact of the operating phase of the fleet has been analyzed in this way. Seeing how the combined value of the power, jobs and supply chain spend adds up over time really helps to throw into sharp relief the positive impact that these facilities have on economic growth. The investment made in these stations over nearly fifty years has paid dividends, and will continue to do so, not just for the people working and living close to the stations but also the millions who benefit from the zero-carbon electricity they produce.”
Électricité de France