Energy and Climate Change written question – answered at on 1 February 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what account he has taken in his proposals for new nuclear construction of international capacity in respect of (a) expertise in, (b) work force skills for and (c) available investment financing for the construction of new build nuclear power plants.
It is for energy companies rather than Government to develop proposals for nuclear plant construction in the UK. To date, three consortium have announced plans to build up to 16GW of new nuclear capacity in the UK by 2025. All three consortium consist of companies which either already operate a nuclear power station somewhere in the world or operate an electricity generating station subject to appropriate health and safety and environmental regulation.
Government's role is to remove any unnecessary barriers to investment in new nuclear, in particular, delivering on the facilitative actions set out in the 2008 Nuclear White Paper. The Government are also working to provide the long-term certainty needed for clean energy projects, including nuclear, by reforming the electricity market and setting a floor for the carbon price.
In addition the Sector Skills Council (Cogent) together with the National Skills Academy for Nuclear are playing a leading role working with employers and the Government to ensure that the appropriate skills base is and will be in place to meet the requirements of the nuclear sector.
Although increasing demand for nuclear power plants globally could present challenges it is the project developers who are best placed to make decisions on the investment climate and the supply chain and skills capacity that exists. My officials and I meet regularly with potential nuclear developers to discuss these issues.
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