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Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee

Nuclear energy in Wales

Closed Opened 26 May 2022 Closed 16 Oct 2023 9 recommendations 8 conclusions

Welsh Affairs Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
The Welsh Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry looking at Nuclear energy in Wales . It will consider Wales’ role in the UK Government’s nuclear ambitions, the economic impact of a new nuclear power station at Wylfa and the development of nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors. Read inquiry launch and terms of reference

Where it stands

The inquiry is closed, opened 26 May 2022.

The committee has published 1 report, most recently Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales on 3 May 2023.

The government's response

Published 7 July 2023. The deadline was 3 July 2023.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government responds to the Committee's recommendations mainly by pointing to Great British Nuclear and a new National Policy Statement, while stating that "no decisions have been taken over which technologies future projects will proceed with, or at which sites".

  • On Wylfa Newydd, it says any decision to sell the site is "a commercial decision for Hitachi", and that Great British Nuclear "will be working with Government on access to potential sites".
  • It will develop a new National Policy Statement for new nuclear power stations beyond 2025, and "will consult later this year" on a policy for how new developments could be sited in future.
  • On Great British Nuclear, its first priority is a competitive process to select Small Modular Reactor technologies, with "an ambition to assess and decide on the leading technologies by autumn". Development funding is "subject to future Spending Reviews".
  • On local content, it says this is "a commercial decision for developers to make", while it "welcomes" companies supporting local regions.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

Recommendations and conclusions

All 17 recommendations and conclusions

Reports

All reports

Evidence

  • 5 oral evidence sessionsLatest 22 February 2023
  • 22 witnesses
All evidence

Recent activity

Recommendations and conclusions 17 shown

1: Broad consensus exists for new nuclear energy generation to achieve net zero and energy security.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
While we have heard dividing evidence on the role that nuclear energy should play in achieving the UK’s net zero targets and ensuring domestic energy security, there is a broad consensus between the UK and Welsh Governments, and the majority of our witnesses, in favour of new nuclear energy generation.

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2: Nuclear energy plays a strong role for net zero due to current renewable storage limitations.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
The storage technology required for an entire electricity system run on renewable energy is not there yet. Therefore, on balance, we consider that nuclear energy has a strong role to play, as part of a mix of low carbon sources, in achieving net zero and energy security.

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3: Uncertainty and raised expectations for new nuclear build at Wylfa concern the local community.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
The previous attempt to bring a new nuclear project to Wylfa by Hitachi has left scars on the local community. We are concerned that expectations are being raised again on Ynys Môn and question how long the uncertainty can continue about whether or not a new nuclear build will be delivered at Wylfa.

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4: Encourage Hitachi to sell Wylfa Newydd site or join a consortium for future nuclear development.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
Given that the land at Wylfa Newydd is owned by Hitachi, it is unclear what the current state of play is at the site. If there is to be new nuclear at Wylfa, the issue of ownership of the land needs to be addressed. We reiterate a recommendation of our predecessor Committee and call on the UK Government to encourage Hitachi to sell the Wylfa Newydd site or take part in a consortium of developers to allow future development.

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5: Wylfa is a prime site and should host the next gigawatt-scale nuclear plant.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
We have heard from a wide range of industry representatives that Wylfa is one of the best sites for nuclear development and it is difficult to see how the UK Government can deliver its nuclear ambitions without taking forward a project at Wylfa. We consider that Wylfa should be the location of the next gigawatt-scale nuclear generation plant after Sizewell C.

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6: Pursue new gigawatt-scale nuclear plants alongside existing Small Modular Reactor policy.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
While successfully developing a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) would present a huge opportunity for the UK, the technology is still in development phase. If the UK Government is serious about nuclear energy now it needs to pursue new gigawatt- scale plants alongside its policy on SMRs.

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7: Include Trawsfynydd site as a potential SMR host in the Nuclear National Policy Statement.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
The UK Government, and Great British Nuclear, should continue to engage with Cwmni Egino on its ambition for Trawsfynydd to become the first site to host Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in the UK. We urge the Government to include the Trawsfynydd site in the new Nuclear National Policy Statement as a potential site for SMRs.

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8: Financing new nuclear projects at Wylfa faces ongoing challenges despite the RAB model.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
The introduction of the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model is welcomed as a better alternative to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme for nuclear developments. However, financing new nuclear projects is not straightforward and there will still be challenges under the RAB model. For a development to progress at Wylfa, important issues still remain regarding financial commitment.

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9: Explain mechanisms for monitoring and reporting consumer risk during Sizewell C construction.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
We recognise the high cost of construction of nuclear energy plants and the large upfront investment needed to get a project to final investment decision. We hope that the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model will help overcome these investment challenges. However, there are valid concerns about the risk to consumers, which needs to be closely monitored in order to be better understood as the RAB model is used for the first time for a nuclear project at Sizewell C. The Government should explain the mechanisms it will use to monitor and report to the House during the construction of Sizewell C.

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10: Inclusion of nuclear energy in green taxonomy will unlock new private investment.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
We welcome the UK Government’s announcement that nuclear energy will be included in the green taxonomy, subject to consultation. We consider that this will unlock new avenues of private investment for nuclear development and send the signals needed to the financial sector that nuclear energy is an attractive investment.

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11: New nuclear developments could significantly boost the North Wales regional economy and job creation.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
New nuclear developments at Wylfa or Trawsfynydd could be a game-changer for the north Wales regional economy. Such projects would play an important role in the UK Government’s Levelling-Up agenda by bringing high-skilled, well-paid, long-term job opportunities to a rural area of the UK. It is vital that north Wales has the opportunity to benefit from the developments that arise from the UK-wide strategy to deliver net zero and achieve greater energy security.

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12: Collaborate with Welsh Government to develop a national nuclear skills strategy for Wales.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
If the UK Government is going to realise its ambitions for nuclear energy, investment in skills is essential and serious work needs to be done on how the required skills can be developed. We call on the UK and Welsh Governments to work closely together to support the skills sector to invest in training for nuclear jobs in Wales. We recommend that the UK Government collaborates with the sector, and Welsh Government, in the production of a nuclear skills strategy to provide certainty to the sector on the skills required, when and where to allow providers to plan investment in training programmes in Wales.

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13: Require developers of new nuclear projects in Wales to meet minimum local content levels.

Conclusion · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Concluded (the committee's words)
The contribution of businesses based in Wales to current nuclear developments at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C demonstrates that, at least in part, the skills and supply chains for such projects are available in Wales. There should be investment in scaling up the Welsh nuclear supply chain to ensure that new nuclear projects in Wales employ the maximum local labour so that the local areas feel the benefits. If there is a new nuclear development in Wales, the UK Government should place a requirement on developers for a minimum level of local content during the project.

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14: New nuclear development at Wylfa remains uncertain without further concrete government commitment.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
While we welcome what feels like small steps in the right direction towards new nuclear at Wylfa, we do still question how much further down the path we are now to seeing a successful development than we were when Hitachi withdrew from the site. There will remain risks associated with both the UK and Welsh Governments’ political commitment to nuclear power and we believe the UK Government needs 28 Nuclear energy in Wales to make further commitments within this Parliament. Our overarching view is that new nuclear at Wylfa is not certain despite progress being made and more concrete commitment is required to deliver a project at Wylfa.

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15: Publish a medium to long-term nuclear energy generation programme, including Wylfa and Trawsfynydd.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
We welcome the UK Government’s announcement that it will deliver a programme of new nuclear projects. We recommend that the Government publishes a medium to long-term programme for nuclear energy generation. The programme must set out how it will achieve its ambitions of up to 24GW of nuclear energy by 2050 and must state which technologies (gigawatt-scale or Small Modular Reactor) the Government wants to be built, where and on what timescale. The programme should also include clear statements of the Government’s intentions for the Wylfa and Trawsfynydd sites.

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16: Mandate Great British Nuclear to plan and deliver a programme for nuclear generating sites.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
We have heard strong representations from the nuclear sector for greater clarity and commitment from the UK Government on its ambitions. We put these representations to the UK Government ahead of the Spring Budget and welcome the launch of Great British Nuclear, as we called for. However, we are yet to see the detail of how this body will function. We recommend that GBN is given a mandate to plan and deliver a programme for nuclear generating sites in order to provide much needed clarity to the whole industry.

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17: Require UK Government to explain plans for resolving the lack of utility developers in nuclear.

Recommendation · Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales · Addressed to Wales Office

Recommended (the committee's words)
One of the significant missing parts of the future of nuclear development is the lack of a utility developer in the UK, other than EDF-related companies. We recommend that the UK Government explains its plans to resolve this problem and whether there is a role for Great British Nuclear to play.

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Reports

1 report

Oral evidence sessions

5 sessions

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Date Session and witnesses Source
22 Feb 2023
Oral evidence session
Alan Raymant · Cwmni Egino, Kiera Harper · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Rt Hon David TC Davies MP · Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Simon Bowen · Great British Nuclear 		View ↗
25 Jan 2023
Oral evidence session
Alastair Evans · Rolls Royce SMR, Ivan Baldwin · Bechtel, Mark Salisbury · Rolls -Royce SMR, Rory O'Neill · Westinghouse 		View ↗
14 Dec 2022
Oral evidence session
Beccy Pleasant · Nuclear Skills Strategy Group, Daniel Maney · Prospect, Jasbir Sidhu · Nuclear Institute, Professor Bill Lee · Bangor University 		View ↗
16 Nov 2022
Oral evidence session
Darryl Murphy · Aviva Investors, Julia Pyke · Sizewell C, Tom Greatrex · Nuclear Industry Association 		View ↗
19 Oct 2022
Oral evidence session
Dr Doug Parr · Greenpeace UK, Dr Michael Bluck · Imperial College London, Dr William Bodel · Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester, Linda Rogers · PAWB (People Against Wylfa B), Neil Crumpton · PAWB (People Against Wylfa B), Professor Adrian Bull · Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester 		View ↗

Who gave evidence

22 witnesses

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WitnessOrganisationSessions
Alan Raymant · Chief Executive Cwmni Egino 1
Alastair Evans · Director of Corporate Affairs Rolls Royce SMR 1
Beccy Pleasant · Head of Nuclear Skills Nuclear Skills Strategy Group 1
Daniel Maney · Negotiations Officer Prospect 1
Darryl Murphy · Managing Director Aviva Investors 1
Dr Doug Parr · Chief Scientist and Policy Director Greenpeace UK 1
Dr Michael Bluck · Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering Imperial College London 1
Dr William Bodel · Research Associate Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester 1
Ivan Baldwin · Business Development Director Bechtel 1
Jasbir Sidhu · President Nuclear Institute 1
Julia Pyke · Joint Managing Director Sizewell C 1
Kiera Harper · Deputy Director of Nuclear Power and Industry Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 1
Linda Rogers · Member PAWB (People Against Wylfa B) 1
Mark Salisbury · Head of Regulatory Affairs Rolls -Royce SMR 1
Neil Crumpton · Member PAWB (People Against Wylfa B) 1
Professor Adrian Bull · Associate Director Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester 1
Professor Bill Lee · Director of Nuclear Futures Institute Bangor University 1
Rory O'Neill · UK Director of Government Affairs and Public Relations Westinghouse 1
Rt Hon David TC Davies MP · Secretary of State for Wales Office of the Secretary of State for Wales 1
Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP · Minister of State (Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero) Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 1
Simon Bowen · Industry Advisor Great British Nuclear 1
Tom Greatrex · Chief Executive Nuclear Industry Association 1