(Lab):...The
Government’s new nuclear programme was planned to deliver 16
gigawatts, or approximately 20% of total electricity usage, by the
2030s. Meanwhile, demand for electricity is now expected to rise
above predicted level because of the rapid changeover to electric
vehicles. Can the Minister update the House on the problems at
Hinkley Point and at Moorside and explain the contingency plans to
address the looming gap in the security of supply? Can he also tell
us about the negotiations with the Chinese in respect of financing
at Bradwell? Are discussions going on with the Chinese with a view
to deploying their smaller, modular reactors, dubbed “the nimble
dragon”, which use proven technology and can be installed
relatively quickly at a fraction of the cost of Hinkley Point
C?..
(Con):..What is the way forward? I think it lies in the
direction of what the Chinese authorities are now calling the
“nimble dragon” technology. This is the very rapid
development—much more rapid than over here or in America—of
small, modular reactors, which the noble Lords, Lord Darling and
, mentioned. The Chinese have
installed a working one, I think, on the island of Hainan, and
are developing this whole concept very rapidly indeed. This is
the Linglong technology, as opposed to the Hualong technology,
which they were talking about for Bradwell. They are also
developing, as are other countries, technologies for using the
molten salt methods, which provide much more passive cooling and
much less radioactive and much safer forms of nuclear energy
generation. They are safer and quicker and they may be, although
this is yet to be proven, cheaper.
What we are talking about are rows of smaller, 300 megawatt
plants—so you would need six, seven, eight, nine or even 10 of
those to match the gigantic 3.2 gigawatt plant that was planned
for Hinkley. But I would not be surprised if the Chinese begin to
see these smaller, modular reactors as an alternative to the
whole EDF Hinkley project, in which obviously they have declining
confidence. As I say, there would need to be a series of them.
They can be built in the factory. A learning curve takes place
but this is now well within reach, and certainly within reach in
the timescale of between now and 2027...
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