New age nuclear

Abstract

Since the UK opened its first commercial nuclear power plant at Calder Hall in 1956, nuclear energy has been the cornerstone of the baseload electricity generation. At its peak in 1997 over a quarter of the UK's electricity came from nuclear power, but since that zenith its contribution has declined to today when it delivers just under a sixth of our requirements. There are currently 19 nuclear reactors in operation in the UK at ten plants - seven are Advanced Gas Cooled (AGR) reactors, two are Magnox reactors and the final is a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) - the chosen design for future plants. With the final two Magnox plants, along with two more AGRs scheduled to end in 2016, there was a pressing need to shore up electricity generating capacity to avoid shortages. In 2005 Tony Blair's government began an energy review, which led to the 2006 Energy White Paper making a commitment to put the UK on the path to a nuclear renaissance. Despite a change of government, that commitment to nuclear energy is unwavering with the stated aim from Charles Hendry, minister of state for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, to put the UK country back on the nuclear map. However, when a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami damaged the nuclear plant at Fukushima in Japan, it appeared that the rush to build new nuclear plants in the UK would need to be reappraised. Germany, Italy and Switzerland were quick to put an end to any nuclear aspirations they held, but the UK took its time, assessing the impact of the accident. Mike Weightman, chief inspector of nuclear installations and head of the office of nuclear regulations, was commissioned by the government to report on the implications of the accident on the UK nuclear new build programme. In his final report, released late in 2011, he remained confident that UK nuclear facilities have no fundamental safety weaknesses