Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con) I beg to move, That this House
has considered small modular reactors and energy security in the
UK. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I
thank all Members who have attended this debate on what is a
crucial topic for both the UK’s ongoing energy security and our
ambitious goal to achieve net zero. This is far from the first time
that I have raised the issue of nuclear energy in a debate. I last
raised...Request free trial
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered small modular reactors and energy
security in the UK.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I
thank all Members who have attended this debate on what is a
crucial topic for both the UK’s ongoing energy security and our
ambitious goal to achieve net zero.
This is far from the first time that I have raised the issue of
nuclear energy in a debate. I last raised the topic of the
funding of nuclear power on 9 November last year in an
Adjournment debate, and have also been active in raising the
issue of nuclear through oral and written questions. I have
recently established an all-party parliamentary group on small
modular reactors.
(Stone) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the incredible work she does in
this field, as well as not only her APPG work, but her work in
relation to the Nuclear Industry Association. I pay tribute to
Tim Stone, Lincoln Hill, and the other people who are doing
amazing work, and I congratulate my hon. Friend very much on
everything she has been doing.
That is incredibly kind of my hon. Friend, but I would like to
highlight that it really is a team effort. I thank him for the
support he has given me on my political journey: my nickname is
“Atomic Kitten”, which is somewhat thanks to support from so many
people.
Small modular reactors are an exciting new nuclear technology for
three principal reasons. First, the modular construction helps to
cure issues that have been experienced with past nuclear
projects, such as financing, long construction timelines and
cost. Secondly, they provide a much-needed route to energy
security and low-carbon energy; and thirdly, SMRs could drive a
new industrial revolution, levelling up across the UK with
high-skilled jobs in the nuclear and engineering supply chain.
That is something I am really hoping to hear from the Minister
about.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work she is doing, not
only in championing this issue in Parliament but prioritising
Anglesey and Wylfa in the Minister’s mind as potential sites for
nuclear investment. In the case of small modular
reactors—[Interruption.]
(in the Chair)
Order. I am not interrupting the right hon. Member because his
intervention was too long; I am interrupting, I am afraid,
because there is a Division.
4.01pm
Sitting suspended for a Division in the House.
4.16pm
On resuming—
It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. In
my intervention, I was supporting my hon. Friend’s contribution
about the opportunities and benefits that small modular reactors
will bring. Does she agree that the export potential is
significant, and that an early intervention in the UK will yield
significant benefits as that export opportunity becomes real?
I thank my right hon. Friend for his insightful intervention. He
has been a vigorous champion of the nuclear sector, particularly
in Wales, and he makes an important point. In the ’50s and ’60s
we led the way with nuclear and nuclear export. This is an
opportunity for us to get back to where we were, leading in a
sector that is so vital for our energy security. That is very
important for jobs, and it will create skilled jobs in my
constituency and across Wales and the UK.
My third point is about co-locating and bringing together clean
power with the industries that need it. That is an opportunity to
bring high-skilled jobs from other industries. Such co-location
is not new; the original Wylfa power station was established to
provide power to Anglesey Aluminium.
Since we last debated nuclear financing, there have been major
developments in the delivery of SMRs in the UK and in global
energy security. The past months have seen an unprecedented rise
in wholesale energy prices during winter, in part due to Russia’s
aggressive behaviour towards its neighbour, Ukraine. That follows
the issue in September with the Kent interconnector. I remind
hon. Members that a fire at the Kent interconnector, which
connects the UK with French power systems, led to soaring energy
prices in the UK. We usually import 3 GW of power from
France—enough to supply 3 million homes. That fire showed how
fragile our energy security is when we rely on other countries
for production.
(Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross) (LD)
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech. Caithness is one
of the most nuclear-sympathetic parts of the United Kingdom.
Dounreay, Britain’s first nuclear reactor, was constructed there.
Even today, some 1,500 jobs directly and 500 in the supply chain
rest on the nuclear industry. When the wind is blowing hard and
renewables are working, units of this nature can create hydrogen,
which will help us to deal with the problem that the hon. Member
describes.
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I am looking
forward to an invitation to visit Caithness and see at first hand
how important hydrogen is, how it can be linked with nuclear and
how we can, I hope, come up with pink hydrogen. In my
constituency of Anglesey, we are fortunate to be developing the
Holyhead hydrogen hub, which the hon. Member might like to
visit.
With much of the European gas supply transiting the continent
through central and eastern Europe, the UK and other western
European nations are at risk of Russian action to influence the
price of wholesale gas and supply through Russian pipelines.
Worse still, many of the other sources of gas for heating and
industry also come from unstable parts of the globe. The UK is
facing an existential crisis in energy supply that ultimately
leaves the country exposed to soaring energy costs and potential
electricity blackouts if we are unable to secure affordable,
home-grown energy long term.
Addressing our energy needs is an urgent priority for the UK. We
must build our way out of this overreliance on foreign energy by
developing our indigenous supply in a way that is compatible with
our COP26 and net zero commitments. To meet the requirements of
the sixth carbon budget, we will need all new cars, vans and
replacement boilers to be zero carbon in operation by the early
2030s. To move people towards the use of electricity while
hitting net zero production by 2035, we must quickly move away
from generating that electricity from fossil fuels. Britain
currently has slim spare capacity in electrical power generation
to feed those changes, leaving both our energy supply and our
security under threat.
There is an obvious solution on the horizon. Nuclear power, which
has been a neglected part of our energy mix, can bridge the gap.
SMRs provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the UK to
develop a new, global industry sector that will contribute to the
country’s long-term energy security. A single SMR located on
Anglesey in my constituency could produce enough energy for the
whole of north Wales, which is primarily rural. A large plant in
the same location could power the whole of Wales—with a little
bit left over for England, if we are feeling generous.
Not only are SMRs easier to finance, but a factory build in
controlled conditions means that they could be up and running as
soon as 2028.
(Aberconwy) (Con)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech about how SMRs are
of value not just to the UK, but beyond its shores. In Aberconwy
I talk to farmers—they are the custodians of some three quarters
of the constituency, and they produce some of the finest lamb and
beef in the world—and I am hearing from them already that the
impact of energy costs mean that bills are rising by up to £1,000
a month. Will she urge the Minister to meet with farmers and
farmers’ representatives in Wales to make sure that is taken into
consideration in looking at the energy supply?
My hon. Friend and neighbour from the beautiful constituency of
Aberconwy makes a very important point. In his previous roles,
the Minister has been keen to reach out to the farming community.
He has already committed to coming to visit Anglesey and Wylfa
Newydd, and I am sure he will reach out to the important rural
and farming communities as part of that visit.
When it becomes law, the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill will
give developers a guaranteed return on their investment and lower
the cost of raising the capital required to build a power
station; that accounts for much of the cost of nuclear projects.
We have already seen the regulated asset base model used for
infrastructure projects in London, such as the Thames Tideway
tunnel, and using it in Wales to finance new nuclear will make a
big difference in levelling up the UK.
There has been rapid progress in recent months. Rolls-Royce has
received the green light to develop its SMR technology, with
match funding from the UK Government. The Nuclear Energy
(Financing) Bill will also make a big difference in allowing new
sources of funding for nuclear projects. There are other exciting
SMR technologies that can help the UK reduce its dependence on
expensive foreign energy.
The generation IV molten salt reactors developed by Terrestrial
Energy not only have the potential to provide clean energy to the
grid, but could provide scalable clean hydrogen for industry.
Boiling water reactors, such as that developed by GE Hitachi,
deliver clean, flexible baseload energy, too. There is a real
opportunity for the UK to take a lead in this field, supported by
engineering firms such as Assystem and Bechtel, as well as the
wider UK supply chain, which can support the development of all
different types of SMR reactors.
This Government have made some impressive funding commitments so
far, with the recent Budget allocating £1.7 billion of public
funds to support new nuclear projects. The Government have
committed to £385 million in the advanced nuclear fund, £215
million for small modular reactors, £170 million for research and
development on advanced modular reactors and £120 million for the
enabling fund announced in the net zero strategy. Finally, there
is an additional £40 million for developing regulatory frameworks
and supporting UK supply chains. That is very welcome, but given
the scale of the potential energy crisis, there is scope for the
Government to do more. The UK should be looking at contingency
plans to get new SMRs into play as soon as possible to replace
fossil fuel generation.
(Hartlepool) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. In
Hartlepool, the nuclear reactor is on the brink of
decommissioning, and my constituency is not the only one in that
position. Does my hon. Friend agree that SMRs provide a unique
opportunity for us to replace those decommissioned reactors as
quickly as possible to preserve high-skilled jobs in places where
people do not fear nuclear? They are used to it and they know the
advantages it brings.
I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. It is fantastic to
have another atomic kitten here, and I welcome her warmly to this
place. I will be talking about SMRs and how important it is that
we have a plan in place so that we do not lose those high-skilled
jobs, which are so valuable to our constituents across the
UK.
To deploy SMRs as soon as possible and restore the UK’s
leadership in nuclear technology, I call on the UK Government to
take the following steps. I ask them to commit, in the upcoming
nuclear road map from the Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy, to deploying a fleet of at least 10
Rolls-Royce SMRs by 2035-36. That road map is critical if the UK
Government are to get support from industry and investors, and it
is the best way for UK taxpayers and consumers to benefit from
the Government’s bold investment in the Rolls-Royce design. I ask
the Government to allow the licensing and siting of the
Rolls-Royce SMR technology to proceed in parallel, rather than
one after another. As part of that, BEIS should instruct the
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Magnox to begin detailed
discussion on the sale of land on nuclear sites to Rolls-Royce as
soon as possible.
I ask the Government to remain open to deploying other SMR
technologies as they are proven around the world. Many of our
trusted allies, including the US and Canada, are investing
heavily in SMRs, and we should learn from their experience. The
offer to conduct licensing and siting in parallel should be
extended to all viable SMR developers with the financing to buy
sites in the UK. As the Rolls-Royce design is proven, the
Department for International Trade should back it with export
financing to sell British technology across the world, as part of
our global Britain initiative. In the ’50s and ’60s, the UK led
the world in nuclear. I know that the Minister wrote one of his
university projects on US-UK large-scale nuclear co-operation.
How fantastic it would be to get us once more back to leading the
way and exporting hundreds of SMRs. Think how that would
galvanise the Welsh and UK steel sectors, and the high-skilled
jobs it would create.
I ask the Government to bring forward a consultation within a
month on classifying nuclear as a green investment in the UK
taxonomy, and make nuclear investment eligible under the UK green
financing framework. Especially as the Government are looking to
invest directly in SMRs and in the next large-scale station, it
makes sense to make those investments eligible for green
bonds.
To be successful, manufacturers need certainty so that a strong
UK supply chain can be established. I recently established the
all-party parliamentary group on small modular reactors to look
at some of those issues in more detail. We are already at the
forefront of this technology, and we need to look at how we can
position ourselves as a leading location for this SMR reactor
technology.
In conclusion, I thank my fellow atomic kitten, the
Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member
for Copeland (), because without her we
would not have set up the nuclear delivery group; she has been a
powerful force within the nuclear sector. In the UK we have a
long and proud history of pioneering nuclear power. In 1956, we
established the world’s first civil nuclear programme, opening
our first nuclear power station, Calder Hall, at Windscale. At
the peak, in 1997, 26% of the nation’s electricity was generated
from nuclear power. Since then, several reactors have closed, and
the share is now about 16%. Almost half of our current capacity
is due to be retired by 2025, and other plants are rapidly
reaching their use-by dates. SMRs could be the game-changing
technology of the 21st century, not just in terms of providing
British businesses and consumers with affordable, low-carbon
energy, but as an export industry for technology and nuclear
engineering skills across the globe.
I see the SMR programme and new nuclear as intrinsically linked
to our levelling-up agenda. When we are importing gas from Russia
and electricity from France, where are the jobs that generate
that power located? Who is getting the value added from what we
pay for that power? According to Rolls-Royce, a UK SMR programme
could create 40,000 highly skilled, well-paid jobs. While
constituencies such as mine in Ynys Môn suffer some of the lowest
rates of gross value added across the UK—reflecting
under-investment and a lack of quality, well-paid jobs—we are now
paying our continental neighbours to provide us with energy.
For all these reasons, the UK needs to look closely and urgently
at its energy strategy. Energy security is vital for our future
as a nation, and for the sake of jobs and our economy. In SMRs,
we have at our fingertips a technology that can transform the UK
from an energy importer into an energy technology supporter.
Diolch yn fawr.
(in the Chair)
It might help right hon. and hon. Members to know that this
debate will finish at 4.45 pm at the latest. I have been notified
that two Members want to speak, but time is getting on and we
must allow some time for the Minister to respond.
4.30pm
(Hartlepool) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I
congratulate the hon. Member for Ynys Môn () on securing this
debate.
The UK is gripped by an energy crisis. Global gas prices have
reached astronomical highs and pose fresh challenges for
households already struggling to make ends meet. Gas prices,
which are determined more by global events than by national
government, have always been volatile, and household bills will
soar again if we fail to rethink energy production in this
country. New advances in nuclear technology could revolutionise
the UK’s energy system, offering security, reliability, safety
and cost-effectiveness to consumers. Small modular reactors stand
at the forefront of those advances.
On security, switching to nuclear energy and SMRs would end
Britain’s reliance on Russian fuel tycoons, who have been able to
make global gas prices soar at a moment’s notice by reducing
supply. SMRs would be built right here in Britain, and would be
operated by British workers and designed according to British
blueprints. Shifting our focus away from foreign gas moguls
toward British tech would boost our economy and breathe new life
into our post-industrial towns and cities like Hartlepool.
The Rolls-Royce-led SMR consortium, alongside Government support
and matched funding, could contribute £52 billion to the UK
economy, create 40,000 great jobs and unlock an export market
worth an estimated £250 billion. Nevertheless, the glaring
advantages of nuclear energy have often sadly been overshadowed
by largely misguided concerns over safety, waste and cost.
On cost, although on the surface fossil fuels appear to be much
cheaper than nuclear, more detailed analysis reveals that the
opposite is in fact true. The cost of balancing the grid in times
of uncertain gas prices, as we are currently experiencing, is
alone greater than the construction costs of Hinkley Point C. To
see this in action, compare Germany and France, and their energy
bills in 2015. Although 54% of German energy came from fossil
fuels that year, the average energy bill was double its French
equivalent, where most energy was generated by nuclear.
On waste, contrary to popular belief, nuclear waste is the only
kind of waste from electricity production that is safely stored.
Waste from coal and gas, on the other hand, is not stored, and
goes directly into the environment and our lungs.
Finally, on safety, those responsible for the clean-up operation
following the Chernobyl disaster were exposed to 100 mSv of
ionising radiation, but only experienced a 1% increase in their
risk of mortality. To put that into perspective, the increased
risk of mortality from living in a large city is 2.8% and that of
passive smoking is 1.7%. With 7 million people dying from air
pollution each year, nuclear energy would prolong lives rather
than shorten them.
In Hartlepool, my constituents are used to nuclear and know the
advantages it brings; they do not fear it. It is for all these
reasons that we would welcome an SMR—or two—in Hartlepool to
replace our soon-to-be decommissioned nuclear reactor.
4.34pm
The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change ()
I congratulate the hon. Member for Ynys Môn () on securing this
important debate. She made a fantastic speech. It was a real tour
de force around the whole sector. I thank her for her hard work
in setting up the all-party parliamentary group on small modular
reactors, which has already been an effective voice in
Parliament. The hon. Member for Ynys Môn is one of the two
original atomic kittens, along with my hon. Friend the Member for
Copeland (). It is good to see other
new members of the group, including my hon. Friend the Member for
Hartlepool (), here today.
I was delighted to take on responsibility for the nuclear sector
when I was appointed as Energy Minister in September, having been
a champion for investment in nuclear energy during my time at the
Department for International Trade, as I was before that. You and
I, Mr Bone, during the 2005 to 2010 Parliament, were recorded as
being part of a group called the atomic eight—a group who voted
more strongly in favour of nuclear than the parliamentary
Conservative party as a whole. I am looking forward to visiting
my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn’s constituency later this
year—hopefully sooner—as the home of the former Wylfa nuclear
power station and the site of the proposed Wylfa Newydd plant.
Before getting into my hon. Friend’s excellently made points, I
will address some other points mentioned.
My hon. Friend the Member for Copeland is not here in person but
is very much here in spirit. My hon. Friend the Member for Stone
( ) gave a very supportive
intervention. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross () made very strong points on the
importance of both nuclear and renewables in producing hydrogen;
I ask him to have a word with his hon. Friends, who are still
opposing the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill, which will cheapen
the cost of nuclear, and ask the Liberal Democrats to reconsider
and vote for it. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for
Aberconwy () on the important role that
nuclear could play in reducing bills. The Nuclear Energy
(Financing) Bill will reduce the cost of a gigawatt nuclear power
station by in excess of £30 billion overall. On a present-value
basis, that is about £10 per bill payer—a very significant
reduction.
Two months ago, the UK hosted the COP26 summit in Glasgow, which
focused the world’s minds on the role of clean energy in tackling
climate change. It was there that I had the privilege of opening
a nuclear innovation event at the UK’s presidency pavilion,
highlighting the largest ever nuclear presence at COP. It is
great to be joined by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my
hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (), who I know has just come
back from a visit to Hinkley Point C, and is also an enthusiast
for the sector.
In April last year, the UK Government set into law the world’s
most ambitious climate change target, through our carbon budget
6, in which we aim to achieve a 78% reduction in our emissions by
2035 compared to 1990 levels. In order to achieve this
commitment, the UK will need to use a wide range of green
technologies, of which nuclear is undoubtedly going to play a key
role. The recently published net zero strategy sets out how the
UK will deliver our commitment to reach net zero emissions by
2050, and it is clear that nuclear is an important part of our
plans to achieve that.
I welcome the enthusiasm of my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys
Môn for new nuclear. We will aim to bring at least one
large-scale nuclear project to the point of final investment
decision by the end of this Parliament, and we will take measures
to inform investment decisions on further nuclear projects. SMRs
will be important in delivering new nuclear for the UK. The
smaller size of SMRs and their factory-based modular build
potentially allows for more flexible deployment options—that is
stating the obvious. My hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool put
in a bid for not just one, but two SMRs, and made the strong
point that nuclear always goes down best in communities that are
used to hosting nuclear. That has always been the case in our
country, and Hartlepool is very much in that category.
(Folkestone and Hythe)
(Con)
On that point, the Dungeness A power station in my constituency
is in advanced decommissioning. The site is owned by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority. I reinforce the point made by my hon.
Friend the Member for Ynys Môn () that it would be helpful
for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
to give direction to the NDA that it can enter into negotiations
with Rolls-Royce about the use of sites like Dungeness A, which
may well be very suitable—indeed, ideal—for small modular
reactors.
I am always happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss that. It
is important at this stage that we are not too prescriptive about
sites for SMRs; it would be too early for us to do that. I am
very happy to meet him and discuss what might be done about the
general position of Dungeness.
In the same spirit, I extend an invitation to the Minister: if he
would care to come north to Caithness, he would receive a cordial
welcome from the trade council and civic leaders.
I welcome that intervention. I am very happy to offer the hon.
Gentleman a deal: if he can persuade his party to become more
pro-nuclear, he will ease the path of a visit to the very
northernmost part of mainland Scotland. If the Liberal Democrats
will vote for the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill when it returns
to the House of Commons, I will come to Caithness and Sutherland
in due course.
Good points about the exportability of this technology were also
raised by the former Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon.
Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (), and by my hon. Friend the
Member for Ynys Môn—points that are very much true. As my hon.
Friend said, in November last year, the Government announced £210
million for Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd to further develop the design for
one of the world’s first small modular reactor designs. Funding
for that project is matched by private investment, with the
design potentially capable of deployment in the UK in the early
2030s. We recognise the significant export potential of the
Rolls-Royce SMR technology, which has already generated
considerable overseas interest.
My Department and my former Department, the Department for
International Trade, are working closely with the company to
support it into overseas markets, and UK Export Finance has
indicated its willingness to provide cover to Rolls-Royce,
subject to the normal lending criteria being met. As my hon.
Friend the Member for Ynys Môn pointed out, this funding is part
of the advanced nuclear fund—a significant Government investment
of up to £385 million to develop a domestic SMR design and
demonstrate innovative advanced modular reactors, also by the
early 2030s.
In addition to investment in SMRs, the Government plan to invest
in the advanced modular reactor research, development and
demonstration programme, which aims to enable an AMR
demonstration by the early 2030s. Based on our own analysis as
well as other public reports, the focus of the programme is on
high-temperature gas reactors, which I announced at the Nuclear
Industry Association’s conference in November. In addition to
low-carbon electricity generation, HTGRs have the potential to
produce very high-temperature heat, which could be used for
increasingly efficient production of low-carbon hydrogen—as has
already been referred to by various Members—to help decarbonise
industrial processed heat, or even for synthetic fuel
production.
Furthermore, the Government have recently launched the £120
million future nuclear enabling fund, which has already been
referred to, as virtually everything else has, by my hon. Friend
the Member for Ynys Môn. She is so on top of nuclear—so well
versed—that I sometimes worry about my own job: my hon. Friend
knows as much about nuclear as I do. The FNEF aims to address
barriers to future new nuclear and help companies to reduce
project risks, so that they are better positioned for future
investment decisions.
In answer to my hon. Friend’s question about allowing the
licensing and siting of the Rolls-Royce SMR to proceed in
parallel, while there are some steps that logically must be
completed before others can begin in a nuclear deployment
project, companies are not, of course, prevented by law or policy
from—for example—applying for a nuclear site licence and
development consent order in parallel. Those are commercial
decisions, as companies are best placed to decide how and when to
enter regulatory projects to best support their project.
I was pleased that Parliament voted to back the Nuclear Energy
(Financing) Bill last week. As my hon. Friend has pointed out,
classifying nuclear as green investment in the UK taxonomy would
allow billions to flow into this essential technology. That is
the basis behind the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill—to bring in
private sector institutional financing. As the Prime Minister set
out to the CBI, we intend to consult on including nuclear in the
draft technical standards for our own UK green taxonomy. Further
details will be released when the consultation is published.
To conclude, the Government fully support the development of
small modular reactors and the exciting opportunities, both in
terms of energy security and of reaching net zero, that new
nuclear can offer the UK. We have demonstrated our serious
interest in building nuclear capacity in the UK, and over the
past year we have made decisions that boost investors’ and
businesses’ confidence in investing in UK nuclear. From the
energy White Paper to our landmark net zero strategy and funding
for small modular reactors, we have shown our dedication to net
zero and nuclear. I once again congratulate my hon. Friend the
Member for Ynys Môn on an excellent debate.
Question put and agreed to.
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