Comment on the new UK Energy Security Strategy

For immediate release, 7 April 2022

The UK’s new energy security strategy, announced today, puts new nuclear build at the heart of a package of measures designed to improve energy security, provide affordable energy and deliver a net-zero energy mix that will help tackle climate change.

Commenting on the new strategy, Sama Bilbao y León,  Director General of World Nuclear Association, said,

“Governments across the world should be following the UK’s example and setting out policies that put nuclear as an essential and substantial component of their long term energy strategies.”

The UK strategy will see the approval of up to eight new reactors by 2030, with more new build following that so that nuclear energy will be supplying 25% of the UK’s electricity needs in 2050 in a fully decarbonized generation mix.

The energy security strategy also sets out plans to develop small modular reactors and advanced reactors that will have applications beyond electricity production.

Sama Bilbao y León commented;

“Nuclear is unique among the low-carbon energy technologies in that it can provide the high temperature heat that will help decarbonize the industry sector. It can also provide district heating to homes, offices and shops as well as producing hydrogen, which will have an increasingly important role as an energy carrier.”

Both the UK Conservative government and the Labour opposition have set out plans for a major expansion of nuclear alongside renewables to tackle climate change, improve energy efficiency and provide affordable energy.

The IPCC report on climate change mitigation published earlier this week stated that firm, dispatchable generation such as nuclear “will be needed to ensure reliability and resource adequacy” alongside wind and solar.

Sama Bilbao y León said;

“With widespread agreement that nuclear has a key role to play in delivering a clean, affordable and secure energy mix it is vital that governments, industry and other key stakeholders work together to ensure we not only set out ambitious plans, but also deliver on them.”