The United Kingdom has moved closer to the construction of new nuclear power stations. Eleven sites have been earmarked as potential locations for new nuclear reactors. The list of nominated sites was published by the British government (the Department of Energy and Climate Change- DECC) on 15 April 2009. The sites are all at or next to existing nuclear plants in order to diminish the risk of local community opposition. The sites have been nominated by Electricite de France (EdF), EOn and RWE, and by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The main ones are the following (see the map below):

Hartlepool in Durham, Heysham in Lancashire, Dungeness in Kent, Sellafield in Cumbria, Kirksanton in Cumbria, Braystones in Cumbria, Wylfa in Anglesey, Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.

Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change secretary, said: "Nuclear power is part of the low-carbon future for Britain. It also has the potential to offer thousands of jobs to the UK and multi-million pound opportunities to British businesses." "This is another important step towards a new generation of nuclear power stations. I want to listen to what people have to say about these nominations and I encourage people to log-on to our website, read the information and let us have their comments. We will consider this alongside the advice of our independent expert regulators." The general public is invited to make comments on the proposed sites by 14 May .This is a significant step in the process of nuclear new build in the UK. On 10 January 2008, the British government already published a Nuclear White Paper which announces that a new generation of nuclear power plants will be built in the UK to contribute to the promotion of a “secure, diverse and low-carbon energy mix”. It was followed by the publication of the government’s action plan for the construction of new units, on 12 June 2008.

The list of nuclear sites should be finalised and approved by the Parliament at the beginning of 2010. Planning and commissioning of the infrastructures should start by then.

 

 

For further information, please consult the website of the DECC dedicated to the nuclear sites.