From Global Prominence to Steady Decline – Exploring Nuclear’s Turbulent Past and Uncertain Future in the UK.
Introduction
This article forms part of the Renewable Energy series under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 of the United Nations. Target 7.2 commits the UK to ‘increasing the share of renewable energy’ in the global energy mix, primarily through the development and deployment of clean, sustainable energy. This series considers the extent to which different renewables will aid the UK in achieving its climate goals.
The use of nuclear power in the UK has a long and turbulent history. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, nuclear energy occupied a central role in the UK’s energy scene – with the UK being seen as a global leader in the field and opening the world’s first commercial nuclear power station: Calder Hall. Since then, Nuclear energy has been on the decline, with no new nuclear plants being opened since 1995. Despite this, the government have outlined how nuclear power will play a significant role in the UK’s drive towards net zero.
The golden age of nuclear power
The UK was home to the first commercial nuclear reactor in the world, Calder Hall, which was connected to the grid in 1966. An energy white paper titled ‘The Second Nuclear Power Programme’ was released in 1964, outlining that over ‘5000 MWe of capacity was expected to come online between 1970 and 1975. Following on from Calder Hall, 41 subsequent nuclear power stations were successfully constructed in the UK and, at its peak output during the late 1990s, over 25% of the UK’s electricity demand was met by nuclear generation.
The demise of nuclear energy
Given its previous prominence within the UK’s energy mix, it is hard to imagine how such an influential energy source could be phased out. The demise, in essence, boils down to two influential factors: privatisation and Chernobyl.
During the 1990s, the privatisation of the energy sector by the Conservative government saw the UK’s nuclear power stations transferred into the hands of new public bodies such as British Energy. ‘Huge investment in gas-fired power stations’ by the UK government following this privatisation led to a large oversupply of electricity. Nuclear power stations, with their exceedingly high operating costs, were vulnerable to a UK-wide drop in electricity wholesale price which led to what was coined as the ‘dash for gas’. British Energy, the company then responsible for most of the UK’s nuclear plants, fell into financial difficulties following the fall of electricity wholesale price and was later acquired by EDF.
To compound the issue, public consensus surrounding nuclear energy was already in a state of disarray owing to the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Public fear associated with nuclear energy, combined with ‘a political unwillingness to even discuss the subject’, led to a political and social landscape in which nuclear energy generation seldom featured and plans for new generation capacity were left to stagnate.
Dead or alive: Where does nuclear energy stand now?
Two decades later, the UK government released the 2022 ‘British energy security strategy’ which, surprisingly, places a large emphasis on nuclear energy. The paper outlines the ambitions of ‘24 GWe of capacity by 2050 to provide about 25% of electricity’ to the UK. Also contained within the strategy is the “Great British Nuclear (GBN)” programme which outlines an additional £120m fund for the development of future nuclear projects.
Despite this, only one nuclear power station, Hinkley Point C, is under construction in the UK currently and is due to be connected to the grid in 2028.
One notable development in this field however is that of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) which are smaller, cheaper, and more transportable generators which the government have singled out to be the ‘backbone of the GBN project’. To complement this, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:
“nuclear power will be classed as environmentally sustainable in our green taxonomy, giving it access to the same investment incentives as renewable energy”.
Whilst this may indicate that the UK appears to be refocusing its approach to net-zero around nuclear energy, there is a notable dichotomy between the policy objectives and the reality in the UK. Nuclear energy generation fell a further 9% in 2021 to 46TWh, the lowest level in four decades. Additionally, despite what UK policy outlines, nuclear capacity is set to decline further, with only one plant due to be operational in 2030; rendering the future of nuclear energy in the UK uncertain.
Conclusions
The UK has had a long and turbulent affair with nuclear energy over the past 70 years, with the once championed energy source declining to a state of relative insignificance. Whilst recent government policy indicates a revival of nuclear energy in the UK, many suggest that ‘nuclear is not the answer to the UK’s energy requirements ’ and that continuing its support is unwise.
By Joseph Trim