Britain puts nuclear power at the heart of its net zero emissions strategy

UK ministers will put nuclear power at the heart of Britain’s strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, along with new details on its funding model, in government documents expected as early as next week.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister of Economic Affairs, will already present an overarching “Net Zero Strategy” paper as well as a “Heat and Building Strategy” and an assessment by the Ministry of Finance on the costs of reaching the 2050 target on Monday.

The main strategy will be heavily focused on the UK’s slow moving and long awaited nuclear power program. The country’s existing reactors are slated to be decommissioned by 2035, with only one large facility, Hinkley Point C, already under construction.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to give the green light to the strategy documents at an “away day” of the West Country Cabinet on Friday.

The creation of a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model will be key to delivering a future fleet of large nuclear power plants. The RAB funding model is already being used for other infrastructure projects, such as the Thames Tideway super sewer in London.

Under the scheme, households are billed for the costs of the system via an energy tax long before the start of electricity generation, which can take a decade or more after the final investment decision.

The mechanism is intended to encourage investments by institutional investors such as pension funds by guaranteeing stable returns early on. The nuclear FAOA model legislation will be published later this month.

However, opponents of the model argue that consumers could be affected by construction cost overruns. French utility EDF plans to finance a new 3.2 gigawatt power plant at Sizewell B in Suffolk, south east England, using a RAB model.

In North Wales, the US nuclear company Westinghouse plans to revive plans for a nuclear power plant in Wylfa, which was abandoned by Japan’s Hitachi in 2019.

Ministers also support smaller modular reactors (SMR) being developed by a consortium led by Rolls-Royce. Proponents of SMRs say they could be built in factories and have lower costs and risks than large nuclear power plants.

SMRs were also a key part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s € 30 billion investment plan announced earlier this week to boost his country’s green and high-tech industries.

Kwarteng aims to achieve net decarbonisation of the UK electricity system by 2035 using a combination of nuclear, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems for gas-fired power plants.

Companies involved in the CCS programs, including BP, Drax Harbor Energy and Royal Dutch Shell, are awaiting a government decision on which projects to develop first.

The document is expected to shrink from the controversial idea of ​​asking the public to eat less meat despite the beef industry’s high carbon footprint.

The heating and buildings strategy, to be released along with the broader net-zero review, will include a new target for 2035 for a ban on installing new household gas boilers.

The government is currently preparing plans to subsidize electric pumps with grants of £ 5,000 for air source heat pumps and £ 6,000 for ground source heat pumps.

The Treasury Department is also expected to release a final document on the cost of reaching net zero within days before Glasgow hosts the COP26 global climate talks later this month.

The preliminary Net Zero Review, published in December, warned that it could hurt low-income families the hardest if consumers were forced to pay for carbon emissions unless ministers provide assistance.

The Treasury Department has proposed cutting electric car grants from the current £ 2,500 per vehicle, a move opposed by the transportation and business departments.