Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much power can currently be supplied to the UK National Grid by nuclear power stations; and what percentage of the total power available to the National Grid that represents.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
In 2018, nuclear power stations provided 9.3 GW of installed capacity to the GB electricity system, equating to 9.2%. They also provided 65 TWh of electricity which is 20.1% of the electricity generated in Great Britain and 19.5% of the electricity generated in the UK.
Currently, 7.2 GW of the installed nuclear capacity is generating power for the grid.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the current peak energy requirements of the UK; and what such requirements are predicted to be in 2032.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
National Grid has estimated energy demand for four different future scenarios in the latest version of the future energy scenarios 2019, these are presented in Figure 4.1 on pages 46 and 47. Current (2020) estimated peak annual energy requirements for Great Britain range from 900 to 1,100TWh, depending on the scenario. The same scenarios are used to predict total annual energy requirements for 2032 of between 700 and 1,000TWh.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy that a third of the UK's future long-term energy requirements should be met by civil nuclear power.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government continues to believe that nuclear power has an important role to play as we transition to a low carbon economy, as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers and consumers. Our commitment to nuclear power has been demonstrated by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year, which includes support for advanced nuclear technologies.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with Rolls-Royce about small modular reactors (SMRs); and what progress the Office for Nuclear Regulation has made in approving those SMRs for operation.
Answered by Lord Henley
Through our Nuclear Sector deal, Government continue to explore whether advanced nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors, could be an important source of low carbon energy in the future.
The deal also highlights a new framework designed to aid the development of advanced nuclear technologies. The framework includes consideration of financing, siting and international collaboration as well as building regulatory readiness for advanced reactors.
The Government has committed up to £12m to build the regulatory capability and capacity of the nuclear regulators, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, to develop their ability to take future licensing decisions on small and advanced reactor designs.
We also committed, with the regulators, to modernise and open Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for small reactors. This regulatory process assesses the safety, security and environmental aspects of a new nuclear reactor design. In December 2018, Expressions of Interest were invited for the GDA process for small and advanced modular reactors. We have received 5 so far for GDAs commencing between 2019 and 2023. We will open a process for formal applications soon.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the earliest date by which they estimate the UK could develop its own functioning satellite-navigation system; and whether it is their intention to develop such a system by this date.
Answered by Lord Henley
Based on initial analysis the proposed development of a fully operational UK Global Navigation Satellite System would around 2028-2030.
Currently the UK Space Agency, as an Agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is conducting an Engineering, Design and Development Phase, which will look into developing options for the proposed system.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the planned new generation of UK nuclear power stations will be the first to become operational; when this will be; and when the remaining planned nuclear power stations are expected to become operational.
Answered by Lord Henley
In September 2016, this Government agreed to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C. The developer is forecasting that Commercial Operations will commence at Hinkley in 2025. Industry has brought forward proposals for a number of other projects and it is for the developers to set out their timescales.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of historical British business brands that are owned by companies registered outside the UK.
Answered by Lord Henley
No such assessment has been made. The Government is committed to making the UK one of the best places to work, invest and do business.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the disposal of chemicals from a laboratory on the Sellafield Site on 21 October, whether there was, or whether there has been at any time, a possible risk to radiological inventory in the surrounding laboratories.
Answered by Lord Henley
The chemicals disposed of on 21 October had been kept within one room of a laboratory facility at Sellafield. This room and the surrounding rooms are not bulk storage areas for radiological inventory, but can contain residues of material.
It is Sellafield Ltd’s assessment that, in the unlikely event of an adverse chemical reaction, the effect would have been contained within the building envelope. At no time was a release of radioactivity from the site credible.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government in the light of the disposal of chemicals from a laboratory on the Sellafield Site on 21 October, whether the chemical tetrahydrofuran was contained in a canister or canisters that showed visual evidence of crystallisation forming highly-explosive peroxides; and whether any such canisters had been opened previously.
Answered by Lord Henley
The chemicals disposed of at the Sellafield Site on 21 October showed no visible evidence of crystallisation. The containers had been opened previously.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the disposal of chemicals from a laboratory on the Sellafield Site on 21 October, whether there is any statutory timescale for disposing of tetrahydofuran once it has been exposed to the atmosphere.
Answered by Lord Henley
There is no statutory timescale for disposing of the chemical once it has been exposed to the atmosphere.