Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con):...I am therefore a believer in what I
like to describe as a portfolio approach to energy. Security of
supply is vital, and diversification is as important for energy as
it is for financial investment if we are to avoid disasters in
future generations. Nuclear, which is virtually zero carbon, has to
play a key part internationally and in the UK, which is why the
safeguards against proliferation, which are at the heart of today’s
Bill, are so important. I take...Request free trial
(Con):...I am
therefore a believer in what I like to describe as a portfolio
approach to energy. Security of supply is vital, and
diversification is as important for energy as it is for financial
investment if we are to avoid disasters in future generations.
Nuclear, which is virtually zero carbon, has to play a key part
internationally and in the UK, which is why the safeguards against
proliferation, which are at the heart of today’s Bill, are so
important. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister to update us
very soon on nuclear investments that secure a baseload capacity
for the future. What is the state of play on Hinkley? Have we found
a way of securing investment in the other five power stations for
which we have proposals across the UK? What has happened to the
plans for small
modular reactors? We know they work technically, as they
have been used by the Royal Navy for years. To my mind, they offer
export potential in a post-Brexit world, especially given our
strong record on nuclear safeguards and security—the subject of
today’s Bill. The Government have rightly earmarked substantial
funds for UK infrastructure. I believe that some of this should go
to securing nuclear investment as part of a sustainable energy
portfolio and to ensure that power cuts do not blight our old
age...
(CB):...Getting back to the Bill, I support the
Government’s two-track approach to providing safeguards for our
nuclear plants, but I naturally hope that we can follow the first
track and find a way to remain a member of Euratom, rather than
having to rely on the alternative of providing the capabilities
ourselves. The Bill provides the means of establishing our own
capabilities in the area of safeguards. This is going to be
expensive—even this, as has been realised—and I believe that new
inspectors are already being hired and trained. However, it is not
going to be possible to train the inspectors to the level that they
can maintain the current high standards in the long term without
maintaining a competitive and up-to-date research and development
programme. Nuclear technologies, along with all other high
technologies, are going to continue to change rapidly. Advanced
reactor designs are already being worked on, as
are small
modular reactors, and the knowledge of how to maintain
safeguards for these new systems will require an up-to-date
understanding of their operation. This can be obtained only through
direct involvement with the engineers who actually design and build
these systems. Either we have these engineers working on our
projects, or we are members of the international
community—presumably Euratom and perhaps the IAEA—and have access
to the latest data from other countries...
(Con):...Of course, while we may no longer be a
member of Euratom, many of the standards it sets are legally
binding and arise from obligations to which the UK is in any event
committed under the International Atomic Energy Authority, of which
we were a founder member in 1957. But I welcome my noble friend’s
commitment to adhere to the higher standards of Euratom. The UK
must continue its leading role in the development of international
security and safety standards, irrespective of our future
relationship with Euratom. For this industry is extremely important
to the UK; it employs 66,000 people, and we are a world leader in
nuclear fusion technologies and are committed to maintaining this
position. I strongly believe that putting our regulatory house in
order at an early stage will generate the confidence necessary to
attract further investment in the industry. I am reassured that the
pace of negotiations with other member states will enable this to
happen, for we need to see advances in nuclear technology—for
example, into a new generation of small modular nuclear reactors,
which may represent a cheaper and quicker way to generate the new,
low-carbon power that the country needs...
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