The
UK government has announced creation of a Nuclear Industry Council to
maximise development of the supply chain needed to support both a
domestic and export nuclear industry.
The
Council will involve government officials and industry executives in
implementing a Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan, to be published later
this year.
The
Council will be led by UK Energy Secretary Edward Davey or Energy
Minister John Hayes and Business Minister Michael Fallon representing
government with Lord Hutton, Chairman of the Nuclear Industry
Association and former Labour Energy Minister, leading the industry
side.
The Council is intended to replace the
Nuclear Development Forum
– a twice-a-year gathering of industry executives and government
officials whose stated aim was to ensure “regular and high-level contact
between all parties on the issues that matter the most to potential
investors and operators.”
The Nuclear Industry Council will join the industry’s
Programme Management Board,
which also includes high-level government involvement from both the
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Office for
Nuclear Regulation.
The
PMB’s focus is on construction and delivery issues for new reactors,
particularly the lead project by EDF to build two new EPR reactors at
Hinkley Point C in Somerset, England.
The
Nuclear Industry Council “symbolises the long-term strategic
partnership developing between the UK nuclear industry and the
Government,” John Hutton, Nuclear Industry Association Chairman, said in
an October 30 statement.
“Through
innovation and high-skilled job creation, the nuclear sector has the
potential to be a driver of economic growth in the UK over the coming
years. Our ambition is for it to be a globally recognised industry, with
UK companies seeking and winning opportunities in the domestic and
global nuclear markets,” Hutton said.
The Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan
is aimed at maximising UK economic activity and growth from the nuclear
sector, including employment and business opportunities for the UK
supply chain; ensuring the domestic nuclear market provides a platform
for export; and raising awareness of nuclear sector opportunities, to
identify barriers and help place the supply chain in a stronger position
to compete for those opportunities, Hutton said.
The
full extent of government funding for the new Council was unclear. The
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) had not responded
to requests for more information by press time.
But earlier this year, BIS had issued an
invitation to tender for a £50,000 to £100,000 study to provide an “economic evidence base” for the Nuclear Supply Chain Action Plan.
A
DECC spokesman said October 30 that DECC, with BIS and the Nuclear
Industry Association, will provide a secretariat function to the new
Nuclear Industry Council.
“However
it is expected that any particular workstreams or issues which the
Council want to explore in more detail will be resourced by industry,”
the DECC spokesman said.
The DECC spokesman said the new Council’s remit will be broader than the Nuclear Development Forum it is replacing.
The
Council will be looking at the whole nuclear industry and will focus on
where collectively government and industry can harness UK economic
benefit from new build, decommissioning and waste management work and
how best to position the UK supply market to take advantage of global
opportunities, the spokesman said.—David Stellfox
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