Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reconsider the commitment in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's command paper, Civil Nuclear Roadmap to 2050, published in January, "not to support the use of plutonium stored at Sellafield by Advanced Nuclear Technologies".
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government confirmed in the Civil Nuclear Roadmap that the UK will not support the use of plutonium stored at Sellafield by advanced nuclear technologies, whilst high hazard risk reduction activities are prioritised at site. The Government has no plans to reconsider this commitment.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to designate sites where new nuclear reactors can be tested and established, and how the processes of certification will be expedited.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are developing a new nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS) and have launched a consultation on a proposed siting policy, which includes greater flexibility in where nuclear power stations can be located. The Government’s Nuclear Roadmap has set out plans to streamline future nuclear development to make Britian the best place in the world to invest in nuclear.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the expected timescale from the decision to proceed with Hinkley Point C until it is providing power to the grid.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hinkley Point C is not a government project and EDF is responsible for delivery with the developers being responsible for any cost and schedule overruns and not UK taxpayers or consumers. On 23 January 2024, EDF announced a revised schedule that projected that Hinkley Point C would start generating between 2029 and 2031.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that, in future, the United Kingdom will not have to rely on foreign suppliers of nuclear technology.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is an exciting time for GBN as we are running an SMR competition to identify those technologies best able to facilitate 2029 FID decisions and deliver projects in the mid-2030s. GBN is seeking technology partners that will provide design and development of various products, equipment or services related to the key plant required for SMR nuclear generation.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that in the competition to find the best modular reactor the support from agencies of the government of the United States and large US commercial enterprises for US designs will not place Rolls-Royce at a disadvantage.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The 2022 British Energy Security Strategy set out our ambition to deploy up to 24 Gigawatts of civil nuclear generation by 2050, around 25% of our projected 2050 electricity demand.
GBN is running an SMR technology selection process to select those technologies best able to facilitate Final Investment Decisions in the next Parliament and be operational by the mid-2030s.
In November 2021, Government announced £210m in new funding for Rolls-Royce SMR, awarded through the Low-Cost Nuclear challenge. This investment was to further develop SMR design and take it through the regulatory processes to assess suitability of potential deployment in the UK.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of risk of declining to adopt the Rolls-Royce reactor for the future of Britain’s nuclear industry.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is our ambition to deploy up to 24 Gigawatts of civil nuclear generation by 2050, around 25% of our projected 2050 electricity demand.
GBN is running an SMR technology selection process to select those technologies best able to facilitate Final Investment Decisions in the next Parliament and be operational by the mid-2030s.
Through the Advanced Nuclear Fund, the Government has awarded up to £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process in March 2022, becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation. In April 2023, the Rolls-Royce SMR progressed to Step 2 of GDA.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the design of the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (RRSMR) was given a grant of £210m in the Low-Cost Nuclear award in 2021 and is one of six selected technologies, in the first phase of the Great British Nuclear Technology Selection Process aiming to identify technologies best able to reach a project Final Investment Decision by the end of 2029 and deliver projects in the mid-2030s.
In April 2022, the regulators began a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) looking at the safety, security, and environmental impact of the RRSMR reactor design. The regulators concluded in April 2023, that all required activities for Step 1 of the RRSMR GDA have been completed and progressed to Step 2.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) sanction, and (2) ban, the use of Russian nuclear fuel products, including mined uranium, uranium conversion, uranium enrichment, and nuclear fuel.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the June 2022 Group of Seven Leaders’ Communique, the Government joined with G7 partners to state our collective intent to reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chains.
To this end, the Government has led discussions within the ‘Sapporo 5’ group of nuclear energy leaders Canada, France, Japan, and the United States to identify potential areas of collaboration on nuclear fuels, with the goal of reduced global dependence on Russian supply chains. UK regularly raises the topic of dependency on Russia for civil nuclear goods and materials with likeminded international partners and supports efforts to diversify.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the yearly revenue earned by Russian state-owned entities from the sale of nuclear fuel products to (1) EU countries, (2) NATO countries, (3) Japan, and (4) the Republic of Korea.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the June 2022 Group of Seven Leaders’ Communique, the Government joined with G7 partners to state our collective intent to reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chains.
To this end, the Government has led discussions within the ‘Sapporo 5’ group of nuclear energy leaders Canada, France, Japan, and the United States to identify potential areas of collaboration on nuclear fuels, with the goal of reduced global dependence on Russian supply chains. UK regularly raises the topic of dependency on Russia for civil nuclear goods and materials with likeminded international partners and supports efforts to diversify.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the EU, (2) NATO, (3) Japan, and (4) the Republic of Korea, about terminating contracts with Russian state-owned entities for provision of nuclear products.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the June 2022 Group of Seven Leaders’ Communique, the Government joined with G7 partners to state our collective intent to reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chains.
To this end, the Government has led discussions within the ‘Sapporo 5’ group of nuclear energy leaders Canada, France, Japan, and the United States to identify potential areas of collaboration on nuclear fuels, with the goal of reduced global dependence on Russian supply chains. UK regularly raises the topic of dependency on Russia for civil nuclear goods and materials with likeminded international partners and supports efforts to diversify.