Recommendation 4

EDFE’s timetable for the closure of the stations will result in a significant reduction in the UK’s generating capacity until new capacity comes online. In 2020, nuclear power accounted for 16% of UK electricity generation. The closure of seven nuclear stations by 2028 will therefore have a significant impact. EDFE considers that the AGR stations will be reaching the technical limit of safe operations and so their use could not be extended while we wait for new generating capacity of come online. Only the existing PWR station at Sizewell B and the new station at Hinkley Point C are expected to be operating when the last of the AGR stations The future of the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors 7 closes. While the Department acknowledges there will be a gap in generating capacity, it is not concerned with there being a shortage owing to its confidence that electricity capacity could be bought from other sources ahead of time. The UK’s old nuclear station sites could be reused as locations for the development of new small modular reactors. Both NDA and EDFE told us they are in active discussions with parties interested in exploring these new opportunities. Recommendation: The Department working with the Office for Nuclear Regulation, EDFE, and Ofgem should urgently review whether it would be technically feasible, safe, and cost-effective to extend the lives of any of the remaining operating stations if needed and report back to the committee within 4 months. The Department and NDA should publish plans within 12 months setting out how they will make best use of NDA’s nuclear sites in future, including whether they are suitable for new nuclear infrastructure, such as modular reactors. In particular they should clarify how the transfer to the NDA from EDFE will allow for these Modular reactors.