Science and Technology Committee: Nuclear Research and Development

Lord Krebs Excerpts

Tuesday 19th June 2012 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Lord Krebs]

To move that the Grand Committee takes note of the report of the Science and Technology Committee on Nuclear Research and Development Capabilities (3rd Report, Session 2010-12, HL Paper 221).

[Lord Krebs]

My Lords, I start by thanking the members of the Science and Technology Committee, including the co-optees for this report, for their excellent contributions. I also thank our specialist adviser, Professor Robin Grimes of Imperial College, for his wise expert advice. I also thank the Minister for the Government’s response to our report, to which I will refer shortly.

This report of the Science and Technology Select Committee is about the credibility of the Government’s plans for nuclear power in the future. Nuclear energy currently supplies about 16%—12 gigawatts—of the UK’s electricity, which is down from 25% 15 years ago. Nine of the current fleet of 10 nuclear power stations are due to close down in the next 13 years, by 2025. The Government have announced that they will build a new fleet of nuclear power stations to replace those that are going out of commission. The new fleet is to be built by the nuclear industry, and the aim is to build up to 16 gigawatts of power by 2025. These new power stations will have a lifespan of 60 years. We are talking about energy generation during the bulk of the remainder of this century.

Looking further ahead, to 2050 and beyond, it is expected that nuclear power will provide a larger share of our electricity than at present. Various scenarios produced by the Government and by advisers suggest that between 15% and 49% of our electricity will come from nuclear power, but it is likely to be well above the minimum of these scenarios. Why is that? The Government’s policy on energy supply has to meet four objectives. The first is security of supply; the second is affordability; the third is to meet our legally binding greenhouse gas targets; and the last, but not the least, is safety.

On the third of these, the Committee on Climate Change, the Government’s statutory independent advisory committee—I declare an interest as a member of it—has suggested that, in order to meet our greenhouse gas targets, by 2030 the electricity supply will have to be largely decarbonised. This is likely to be achieved through a portfolio that could include 40% nuclear, 40% renewables and 20% fossil fuels, mostly with carbon capture and storage. In this mix, nuclear energy is a proven, low-cost, low-carbon option. In short, if we are to keep the lights on with a lower carbon footprint, and if we are to be able to pay to keep them on, we are likely to depend to a substantial degree on nuclear power.

This is the starting point for our report, which is not about the arguments for and against nuclear power. We take it as given that nuclear energy will be part of the future mix, and we asked whether the Government have a credible plan to deliver this. Our inquiry concluded that the Government do not have a credible plan. This was the view of all the expert witnesses, including those from the UK and overseas, and including the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser and the chief scientific adviser in the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

We asked whether the UK will, in the decades ahead, have a sufficient supply of expertise, as well as the research and development capabilities, to support an expansion of nuclear energy. We concluded that, although the UK still has strengths in the nuclear field, they are largely the result of past investment. Many of the leading experts will retire in the next decade and, because of a lack of investment and vision by the Government, there is inadequate succession planning. Without a new generation of experts and a new focus on research and development, the UK will not be able to act as an intelligent customer for new power stations, as an effective regulator or as a contributor to the development of new nuclear technologies by UK industry. These functions are all necessary, even if the Government were to adopt what might be called an “Argos catalogue” approach of buying nuclear power plants from overseas companies.

Remarkably, in our inquiry, the Government did not even recognise the problem that they face. They presented an extraordinarily complacent view about the future. To quote one senior official in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Government’s strategy is to “keep a watching brief”. I can only speculate that the DECC official, when referring to a “watching brief”, was thinking of Euro 2012, Wimbledon and the Olympics. I doubt that the next generation of young scientists and engineers will be attracted by the vision of a “watching brief”.

Nor will UK industry be able to capitalise on the estimated £1.7 trillion global market for nuclear technologies in the years ahead. I will give some figures about our investment in R and D. Since the 1980s, the nuclear R and D workforce in this country has declined from about 8,000 to under 2,000, counting both public and private sectors. From the figures we had available, up to 2009, our investment in nuclear R and D was lower than countries such as Australia, which has no nuclear energy programme, half that of the Netherlands and Norway, and one-100th of that of France. We spend a smaller percentage of our energy research budget on nuclear energy than any of the 17 countries for which we had comparative data. Our international partners view our lack of investment with disbelief.

The UK also does not make the best use of facilities it has. At the National Nuclear Laboratory, to which we paid a visit to see this with our own eyes, there are state-of-the-art facilities for handling hot radioactive material that have never been commissioned. They could be an attractive facility for international collaborators, but we are simply not using them.

It appeared to us as though the Government were setting out on a journey to a nuclear energy future without a map of how to get there, without a driver and without anyone to repair the car if it breaks down on the way. What needs to happen? Our report made 14 recommendations. I do not propose to go through all 14, and I am sure that other noble Lords will refer to various aspects of our report. A central recommendation is that the Government need a nuclear energy strategy and, to underpin this, a research and development road map as well as a body to make sure that the road map is developed and implemented. That body, which we called the nuclear R and D board, should, we argued, have a powerful independent chairman and include experts from all key stakeholder groups. We argued that it should develop the vision and drive that is currently lacking, and it should hold the Government to account. In implementing this, there is no time to waste. If the Government continue to “keep a watching brief”, there may be no lights by which to watch the brief.

What have the Government said in their response? I will first give the good news. The report seems to have acted as a wake-up call. The Minister of State for Universities and Science said that nuclear issues are:

“High on our agenda… after a challenging report from the Science and Technology Committee”.

Furthermore, the Government have accepted the majority of our 14 recommendations in full or in principle. No doubt other noble Lords will pick up on other recommendations. We very much welcome this positive response. Crucially, the Government will publish a long-term strategy for nuclear energy, including an industrial vision statement explaining how the research base can support the global economic opportunities in nuclear technology. This strategy is due out in the summer. Judging by our weather, the summer has been postponed this year; I hope that that does not mean that the strategy will also be postponed.

The Government have also established a nuclear R and D advisory board, chaired by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, whose job is to co-ordinate effort and to create the R and D road map to underpin the nuclear strategy. This road map is due to be published at the end of the year, and I hope that it will have real teeth. It should set out clearly how the Government intend to make appropriate investment in nuclear R and D, how this investment can be harnessed to support product development by UK industry and how the training of the next generation of scientists and engineers will be achieved.

The government response leaves many questions unresolved, and I hope that the Minister will use the opportunity provided by this debate to update us on progress and thereby shine light, perhaps even light generated by nuclear power, on some of these unresolved issues.

I have four questions for the Minister. First, will the R and D advisory board continue, as we recommend, with not only an advisory but an executive role in the future and who will chair it? Will it be established as a non-departmental public body as we recommended? Secondly, will the Government reinstate the UK’s membership of the so-called Generation IV International Forum, the body that will shape the next generation of nuclear power stations, or are we to remain in the stands as observers? Thirdly, have the Government decided that they will now commission the currently unused state-of-the-art hot facilities at the National Nuclear Laboratory? Fourthly, do the Government plan to implement our recommendation for the re-establishment of the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee to provide independent advice and challenge for the Office for Nuclear Regulation and challenges to it? This country rightly has an outstanding international reputation for nuclear safety, evidenced by the fact that our chief nuclear inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, was chosen by the international community to report on the Fukushima incident in 2011. It is crucial for our nuclear future that this outstanding reputation is maintained.

I look forward to the debate and to the Minister’s answers to these and other questions. I commend this report to the House. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Krebs]

My Lords, I have very much enjoyed this debate, and would like to thank all those who have taken part in it. It demonstrates the depth of expertise in this House, which makes such a difference to the quality of debate on important issues such as the future of nuclear energy.

I also thank the Minister very much for his encouraging response. We all accept that the move ahead with a new generation of nuclear power stations and the electricity market reforms are very significant steps forward in the role of nuclear in future energy supply. That in itself underlines the urgency of ensuring that we have an adequate R and D base and skills to procure, regulate and run the new generation of nuclear power stations.

I will not go on in any detail, because the Minister has left me minus one minute to allow the noble Lord, Lord Winston, to get in front of a television. Therefore, I shall delay noble Lords for only a few seconds longer.

I sound just one note of warning about shale gas. Of course, noble Lords are right to reflect that there is a large amount of shale gas in the world—in fact, without carbon capture and storage, enough to fry us all many times over. So shale gas has to go with CCS, which is an unproven technology, whereas nuclear is a tried and tested technology. We must therefore not relinquish our commitment to nuclear because of the hope of shale gas with CCS, unless we are prepared to fry.

I reiterate what has been said by other noble Lords during this debate. We are encouraged by the Government’s response, and thank them for that, but wish to keep our eye on things. I am very encouraged that the Minister has emphasised the executive powers and continuation of the R and D board, and we will want to keep a close eye on that to make sure that the important recommendations that we have made are carried through. I thank all those that have taken part.

Motion agreed.