French nuclear technology too expensive and unproven says IOD boss

UK government should rethink its current Hinkley Point nuclear deal with French and Chinese and seek faster, cheaper power using Japanese technology, according to Institute of Directors chairman Lady Barbara Judge.

Hinkley Point

The UK government’s deal with French energy firm EdF, backed by Chinese investment, to construct new nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point, is too expensive, uses unreliable technology and is unlikely to be delivered to programme, Judge told Infrastructure Intelligence.

In a wide ranging interview in this month’s Infrastructure Intelligence magazine, Judge, former chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and now a member of the ACE advisory board, highlighted that is was unlikely Hinkley Point would deliver the UK’s next nuclear power station and called for a rethink.

“So far the French have been late and over budget with their projects in both Finland and France.  Now the only way that they will build a nuclear plant is with Chinese investment." Lady Barbara Judge

“We are now in a situation where we have said the first power plant will be French but we have the Japanese desperate to build. Meanwhile the French are trying to build a plant that has never been built before and a price was struck that is very high,” she explained.

“So far the French have been late and over budget with their projects in both Finland and France.  Now the only way that they will build a nuclear plant is with Chinese investment. It is possible we could have faster, cheaper power delivered by Japan, a country with which we have good relations – why not at least rethink it.”

Judges comments comes as Chancellor George Osborne announced government support for loan guarantees to Chinese investors worth £2bn for the UK's first new nuclear power plant in 20 years.

The support will be provided by Infrastructure UK and is intended to pave the way for a final investment decision by energy company EDF, supported by China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation, later this year. Further amounts are potentially available in the longer-term and there is a possiblity of the Chinese building new plants at Bradwell and Sizewell.

However, Judge, now a consultant to a number countries and companies on nuclear new build and decommission including the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said “it may be that Hinkley Point is not the first’ new nuclear plant to be built in the UK. She adding that both Toshiba and Hitachi have proven technology and a desire to build. 

The new Tory government is, she said, much better placed than the last coalition administration to actually drive forward with such difficult decisions to make investments in new nuclear but also in other vital infrastructure assets. They might think about striking an early deal with the Japanese, she said.

“There was so much time spent in the last government negotiating what the policy would be. Now we have a majority and a very clear thinking government,” she explains, reiterating that the investment is at the heart of driving business productivity.

An interveiw with Lady Barbara Judge is carried in the latest issue of Infrastructure Intelligence magazine. For copy click here

“They have an opportunity and they mustn’t blow it,” she adds. “While you have a majority you need to be business focused. This country will only grow if the policies of government are focused on the business agenda – all businesses – and this agenda should be at the forefront of policy.”

Judge has been involved in the nuclear industry since being appointed as a non-executive director of UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). In 2004 she became chair and held the positon for two terms until 2010 after UKAEA sold its decommissioning business to Babcock International Group in 2009. 

Today she remains a consultant to a number countries and companies on nuclear new build and decommissioning and is an expert of the Japanese nuclear industry where she is deputy chair of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, set up to oversee the decommissioning of the Fukushima power plant, damaged in the 2011 tsumani. She also chairs TEPCO’s Nuclear Safety Task Force, established in the wake of the disaster.  

“Business needs reliable energy to continue to grow – that means making sure the nation always has baseload power.”

Judge is a lonfgstanding supporter of UK’ nuclear sector and led the campaign led to the well reported 2006 CBI speech by then prime minister Tony Blair to abandon Labour’s long standing opposition to nuclear power and kick-start a programme to create a new generation of nuclear power stations for the UK. 

Judge told Infrastructure Intelligence that public opinion was now right behind nuclear, referring to a recent IOD survey highlighting that 81% of members were in favour of nuclear new build to deliver vital energy security for the UK.

“Our members are looking less at cost and more at not losing it,” she explains. “Business needs reliable energy to continue to grow – that means making sure the nation always has baseload power.”

If you would like to contact Antony Oliver about this, or any other story, please email antony.oliver@infrastructure-intelligence.com.

Comments

What ever happened to the Canadian Candu reactor type? That was a reliable and, as far as I know, a safe in operation reactor. Is there really nothing else available than French or Japanese technologies?