Nuclear sector calls for new agency

Industry wants to see independent energy body· MPC model 'could avoid political uncertainty' Terry MacalisterMonday October 9, 2006The Guardian
The nuclear industry is calling for the government to establish a new energy agency - independent of political influence - to oversee nuclear power if a second generation of atomic stations is to be built.
A summit of leading figures last week endorsed the idea of an organisation that would be given the kind of autonomy granted by Labour to the Bank of England, according to the Prospect union.
EDF, the world's largest operator of atomic plants, also told the meeting it needed reassurances on many other issues before it turned from "investor-in-waiting to active investor".

The nuclear industry has been shaken by recent news that the first reactor being constructed in Western Europe for two decades - at Olkiluoto in Finland - is running wildly over budget and causing financial losses for French builder Areva.
"The biggest obstacle to a new generation of [British] plants is long-term political uncertainty," said a spokeswoman for Prospect, which organised the meeting. "The five-year cycle of election politics is too short and we need the kind of approach that was used with the [Bank of England's] monetary policy committee to get round this," she added.
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF UK, was present at the meeting on October 3. A spokesman for the company confirmed last night that Mr de Rivaz "supported the principle" behind the Prospect idea. "We have to have a cross-party political consensus on this, given new nuclear would have a 40 to 60-year time horizon which would run across eight parliaments," he said.
Others at the summit included Bill Coley, the chief executive of British Energy, Rhys Stanwix from Scottish & Southern Energy, and Jim Wright, a director of Amex Nuclear. The idea of an independent agency has also been supported by Dieter Helm of the Oxera consultancy, an energy adviser to the British government. The DTI declined to comment on the proposal.
EDF meanwhile wants further clarity on a number of issues including planning, licensing, availability of sites, waste storage and carbon pricing. It needs a "self-contained and unambiguous" statement in a white paper that nuclear has a role to play in UK power generation, it said.
"Make no mistake - I am advocating a full [planning inquiry] process which should include public consultation. But let us do this just once and then let us focus the local planning issues on site-specific considerations," said Mr de Rivaz in a speech to the Prospect summit.
The government has already said it wants to streamline the planning process for new plants, a move criticised last week by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. "If people can't give their views at a public hearing, public confidence in decision-making will be lost ... the government is storing up trouble for itself," said CPRE planning campaigner Amanda Brace.
EDF wants the government to agree to the pre-licensing of reactors to shorten the time needed to agree on the technology for each specific site. It also wants a clear decision on dealing with nuclear waste.
Many of these needs were met at Olkiluoto but the scheme has still run into difficulties. Areva's reactor and services arm recently revealed a first-half loss of €266m (£180m), compared with a €32m profit during the same period of 2005. Despite the difficulties, German utility E.ON said on Friday it was looking at building a second new reactor in Finland.
Meanwhile, opposition to nuclear in Britain stepped up last week. The government's recent energy review, which backed new nuclear plants, was "legally flawed", according to documents given to the high court by Greenpeace. The group said the government did not carry out the promised "full public consultation" before making the decision.
Backstory:
After many hints by Tony Blair that he was "minded" to approve new nuclear power stations the government finally launched its wider energy review consultation on January 26. Mr Blair made clear he supported a new generation of atomic power stations - to fight climate change and reduce reliance on overseas gas. Conclusions were made public on July 11 and a new consultation started on a specific nuclear newbuild policy framework which concludes at the end of this month. The policy will be made clear in a white paper expected at the end of the year.Special reportsClimate changeEnergyNuclear industryOil and petrolWhat can I do?Useful toolsCarbon offset calculatorUseful linksEnergy Saving Trust