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UK nuclear energy delivery must accelerate alongside establishment of GBE
29 Jul 2024, 4:25 pm
Nuclear energy must play a central role in the UK’s energy mix, and progress towards delivering new nuclear must be accelerated in line with the introduction of Great British Energy (GBE), an expert has said.
The Great British Energy Bill was introduced in the UK parliament on 25 July to establish GBE. The Bill sets out the details of GBE which will facilitate, encourage and participate in the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a main aim of the new legislation, as well as improving energy efficiency and securing energy supply.
In a government announcement and written statement to parliament which accompanied the Bill, the secretary of state for energy and net zero, Ed Miliband, said that establishing GBE was a “major milestone” and that it would bring “strategic industrial policy” coupled with an ability to invest. A programme of stakeholder engagement is expected to further develop the government’s policy approach. According to the statement, GBE will have five key functions – project development, project investment, local power plan supply chain, and exploring collaboration with Great British Nuclear (GBN), the body established by the previous government under the Energy Act 2023.
GBE’s nuclear role will require it to work out how it will work with GBN.
GBN’s functions under the Energy Act 2023 are wide and aim to facilitate the design, construction, commissioning and operation of nuclear energy generation. This could include a range of roles, from GBN giving strategic advice to either government or the private sector as to how to best structure and implement a nuclear project in line with UK legislation and policy and international requirements and best practice, through to GBN securing the necessary land interests and holding the relevant consents, permits and licences to construct and operate a nuclear generating station, whether itself or in collaboration with the government or private sector.
“There is currently no public indication that the government intends to change the framework that has been put in place related to GBN’s role and objects. There does remain, however, some conceptual uncertainty as to how GBE will sit alongside and interact with GBN’s mission,” said nuclear regulation expert Michael Freeman of Pinsent Masons.
The Bill itself does not contain any express reference to GBN. However, it does envisage that GBE will be constituted through the same designated corporate structure, indicating that both GBE and GBN could perhaps operate alongside each other as part of the same corporate group, both owned ultimately by the crown and subject to strategic objectives and directions given by the secretary of state.
Freeman said, “The Labour government’s objective of delivering ‘zero-carbon electricity by 2030’ is, on any interpretation, an incredibly bold and ambitious target. If the UK is to stand any chance of meeting that target, nuclear energy must play a central role in the energy mix. The establishment of GBN remains a positive step forward in this regard, as indeed is the progress made more widely in the sector with the upskilling and increased capacity of nuclear regulatory bodies and the progress made with GBN’s on-going nuclear technology competition. Along with the establishment of GBE, the government must continue to work with GBN to maintain the momentum that has gathered in recent months.”
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