As part of its Energy Review Report, the Government issued a Consultation on the Policy Framework for New Nuclear Build. This follows the Government's conclusion in its Report that the building of further nuclear power stations constitutes an economical and low-carbon option for generating electricity and would also increase the UK's diversity of energy supplies.
Government is inviting comments on a number of proposals, including the following key ones:
- Government proposes to introduce a "Statement of Need" for further nuclear power stations. This "Statement of Need" would address all national strategic and regulatory issues, which are connected to nuclear new build. Government's intention is then to formalise these issues in a White Paper. This would remove the consideration of such issues from the planning process, which would instead focus solely on the environmental and social impacts of individual proposals for new nuclear build (to read our Law-Now article on the planning aspects of the Energy Review, please click here).
- Government proposes to undertake a strategic siting assessment in early 2007, in consultation with the public, to consider the high level environmental impacts of new nuclear build and identify the most suitable sites for new nuclear power stations. These issues would then not have to be dealt with in future site-specific planning inquiries.
- Government proposes to carry out a justification process in 2006/2007 to consider the benefits and detriments of new classes or types of nuclear practice/design, which might be proposed by developers.
It is important to note that, although Government aims to develop a robust regulatory framework for nuclear new build, Government's avowed intention is that it will be up to the private sector to implement nuclear new build projects. The consultation will therefore be of interest to industry participants planning to get involved in the development of new nuclear power stations, as well as other stakeholders interested in Government policy on the nuclear new build issue.
The deadline for responses to this consultation is 31 October 2006. The resulting policy framework is to be published in an Energy White paper at the end of 2006, which Government hopes will strengthen the case in favour of nuclear new build.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 28/07/2006.