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 many of the current nuclear plants they expect to be operating in 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are currently 15 nuclear reactors operating at 8 stations across England and Scotland, all operated by EDF. On the basis of current scheduled closure dates, all 14 of the advanced gas cooled reactors (AGR) will close between 2022 and 2030. Of the current generating fleet, only Sizewell B power station with its pressurised water reactor (PWR) is expected to continue generation past 2030. The developer of Hinkley Point C is forecasting that it will also be generating before 2030.
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 nuclear plants are currently able to provide one fifth of UK electricity supplies.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The total installed nuclear capacity in the UK is 8.9 GW and if all stations were fully operational they could provide more than a fifth of UK electricity supplies. However, a proportion is likely to be unavailable at any given point due to routine inspections, maintenance and technical issues.
In 2020 nuclear power stations generated around 16% of the electricity generated in the UK. This figure is provisional and final figures will be published in July in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES: the annual energy statistics publication produced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).
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 when they expect Sizewell B to return to service.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Sizewell B was brought offline on 16 April 2021 for planned refuelling and maintenance work. The outage has been extended to 30 August 2021 to allow for additional work to be carried out. The reactor will not be returned to service without the permission of the regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
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 they expect Dungeness B to close this year.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The decision to close a nuclear power station is a matter for the operator (EDF) and the regulator (Office for Nuclear Regulation). The current scheduled closure date for Dungeness B is 2028.
Currently EDF forecast the station’s reactors to return to service in July and August 2021.
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 they expect EDF to close (1) Hinkley Point B, and (2) Hunterston B, permanently by next year; and if so, on what grounds they would be closed.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The decision to close a nuclear power station is a matter for the operator (EDF) and the regulator (Office for Nuclear Regulation). On 27 August 2020 EDF announced that Hunterston B power station would end generation by January 2022. On 19 November 2020 EDF announced that Hinkley Point B would end generation by July 2022. The grounds for closure are because of end-of-life of components which cannot be replaced, which is expected as a station ages.
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 research and development support they are giving to further phases of the Marrinav project.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The MarRinav project was funded through the European Space Agency NAVISP scheme, which the UK contributes to. The industrial consortia are proposing additional activity to follow on from MarRinav but this has not been submitted for approval and evaluation at the time of this response.
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 have had with the government of Japan about facilitating a transfer of ownership of Horizon and its sites to another development company or other relevant commercial business.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Japan is a significant strategic partner for the UK and we regularly discuss a range of issues, including nuclear energy. It would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of these discussions.
The sites at Wylfa and Oldbury are owned by Horizon Nuclear Power and the future ownership of it and its assets is a matter for Hitachi, its parent company.
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 the UK Positioning, Navigation and Timing Strategy Group led by the Deputy National Security Adviser has produced a strategy; and if so, (1) when the strategy will be published, and (2) who will be responsible for the implementation of the strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK PNT Strategy Group is in the process of developing a national PNT Strategy. Publication and an SRO for implementation are subject to a wider governance review being led by the current Senior Responsible Officer.
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 governance arrangements for sharing Positioning, Navigation and Timing data in the UK; and what assessment they have made of the need for an organisation that would promote the benefits of the Global Navigation Satellite System in a similar way to the Civil Global Positioning Service Interface Committee in the United States.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Deputy National Security Advisor is currently the Senior Responsible Officer for PNT. Future governance arrangements for the development of resilient PNT arrangements for UK users, including the promotion of GNSS and other PNT sources are the subject of a cross-Whitehall review being undertaken by the Cabinet Office.
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 (1) the distinction between commercial and military offshore unexploded ordnance disposal by deflagration, and (2) the effectiveness of deflagration in the offshore disposal of unexploded ordnance.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognise the potential for significant impact of underwater noise from unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance on vulnerable marine species and is taking active steps to manage and reduce the risk. Two phases of a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) funded project to characterise and contrast the acoustic fields generated by UXO clearance using high order detonation and using low-order deflagration have been completed and reported on.
It is our understanding that there is no appreciable distinction between the deflagration technique used by commercial and military clearance of marine UXO.
A third phase has now been initiated to further improve the information base, allowing further assessment of the clearance options. A potential 4th phase of the work involving offshore field work is also being actively explored in which comparative noise measurements would be made during actual UXO clearance campaigns using both deflagration and high order detonations. This would require cooperation and active support from industry (windfarm developers) and the regulatory authorities.
The outcomes from the 3rd and 4th phases would allow an informed discussion and consideration of the adequacy of evidence by regulatory authorities and the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies.