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Viewing cable 08LONDON3199, POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR UK NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPANSION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08LONDON3199 2008-12-22 17:54 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy London
VZCZCXRO2657
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHLO #3199/01 3571754
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221754Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0767
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LONDON 003199 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE: MHUMPHREY, T BUREAU; COMMERCE:SLOPP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG TRGY BEXP BTIO UK
SUBJECT: POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR UK NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPANSION 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 127468 
     B. LONDON 808 
     C. LONDON 2989 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary. HMG announced a long-term nuclear energy 
strategy in January 2008, setting it on a path for tremendous 
growth over the next ten years.  This strategy addresses the 
UK's energy security concerns and EU commitments for 
clean/renewable energy.  The UK hopes to increase the 
proportion of nuclear energy from the current 15-18 percent 
level to 30 percent.  The Government is also tackling the 
concerns of an "aging" workforce through various 
public-private sector training initiatives related to 
nuclear.  U.S. companies involved in the UK nuclear energy 
market -- Westinghouse, CH2M Hill, Fluor, URS, and others -- 
are positioned to benefit from the expansion of the nuclear 
sector.  Market dynamics, however, are very dependent on 
French-owned Electricite de France (EDF's) 12.4 billion GBP 
purchase of British Energy (BE) and BE's eight nuclear sites. 
 The European Commission (EC) approved the acquisition on 
December 22, subject to conditions that include divesting two 
power plants, concessions on new build, and other agreements 
related to the wholesale of electricity and the national 
grid.  It is too early to assess whether EDF's competitors 
agree whether this "remedy package" goes far enough in 
opening the market to competition.  End Summary. 
 
Overall Expansion Plans 
----------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) In January 2008, HMG produced a white paper on its 
long-term policy on nuclear energy, stating new nuclear power 
stations should have a role to play in the UK's future energy 
mix.  The Government also announced it would launch the 
application process for investment in new nuclear power 
stations.  Overall objectives include helping the UK meet the 
challenges of climate change and addressing energy security 
concerns due to limitations of oil and gas.  According to the 
Office of Nuclear Development (OND), which is part of the new 
Department of Energy and Climate Change, there are ten 
existing nuclear power stations.  Eight of these nuclear 
power stations are owned by BE and two by the Nuclear 
Decommissioning Authority (NDA).  French-owned EDF bid in 
September 2008 to buy BE, pending approval by the EC.  The EC 
issued its approval of the acquisition on December 22, 
pending conditions.  These include commitments by EDF to 
divest the power generation plant at Sutton Bridge (owned by 
EDF) and at Eggborough (owned by BE), to sell certain volumes 
of electricity in the British wholesale market, to divest a 
site suitable for nuclear new build either at Dungeness or 
Heysham sites, and to end one grid connection agreement with 
National Grid at Hinkley Point. 
 
3.  (SBU)  According to OND, there is not a specific number 
of new sites planned over the next ten years.  The current 
timeline calls for site assessment/licensing and other 
planning between 2009 and 2013, and new plants are to become 
operational by 2018. Nuclear energy comprises approximately 
15-18 percent of the UK's current energy mix, and OND expects 
this percentage to increase to 30 percent long-term.  Many 
existing nuclear sites are expected to be decommissioned by 
2025.  The UK Government expects many of the new nuclear 
stations will be built on (or near) decommissioned sites 
since the infrastructure and workforce are already in place 
in these locations. 
 
The Government's Role:  No Subsidies 
------------------------------------ 
 
4. (SBU) The UK Government does not provide any financial 
incentives to the civil nuclear industry; the "new build" 
market will be completely paid by the private sector.  OND 
plays a role by facilitating the site assessment, the design 
process, and overall policy development.  While members of 
industry comment on the positive support from the UK 
Government, they also contend the licensing and site 
assessment processes are cumbersome.  The Foreign 
Commonwealth Office (FCO) plays a diplomatic role in 
facilitating the shipment of spent fuel and in handling 
concerns raised by UK neighboring countries.  According to 
one FCO representative, both Sweden and Ireland have raised 
concerns in the past regarding nuclear safety of plants near 
their borders. 
 
5. (SBU) While the UK Government currently owns 36 percent of 
BE, its ownership will decrease substantially now that the EC 
has approved the acquisition by EDF.  The UK Government 
stands to receive close to 5 billion GBP from the sale of BE. 
 
LONDON 00003199  002 OF 003 
 
 
 OND notes the UK Government supports the EDF deal, but would 
like to see a diverse energy market.  There are also no 
automatic "guarantees" that the sites EDF purchased from BE 
will meet OND's established site criteria. 
 
Regulatory Authorities 
---------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), which 
is part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is the 
primary nuclear regulatory authority.  The NII consists of 
six divisions and focuses on nuclear safety and security 
standards.  A site license by the NII can take 2-3 years. 
OND requires site assessments from businesses interested in 
developing nuclear sites, but also looks at threats of 
terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation.  The Nuclear 
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for the 
decommissioning of old or "legacy" nuclear sites.  The 
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) 
plays a small role in regulating overall environmental 
protection. 
 
Liability Regime/Laws 
--------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) The UK does not have a domestic nuclear liability 
law.  However, it is signature to the Joint Protocol Relating 
to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris 
Convention (September 21, 1988), as well as the Convention on 
Nuclear Safety (September 20, 1994).  It is also signature to 
the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management 
and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (September 
29, 1997).  The UK also established the Nuclear Liability 
Financing Assurance Board, which scrutinizes the site plans 
of companies and requires both financing and plans for 
dealing with nuclear incidents, as well as funding for the 
decommissioning of a nuclear plant at the end of its life 
cycle.  The UK is also a partner to the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty.  All IAEA safeguards are applied on 
all civil nuclear activities. 
 
Manufacturing and Workforce Base 
-------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) The UK has a strong manufacturing base to support 
the UK nuclear industry.  Nuclear plants are big businesses 
generating significant revenue and workforce.  Figures 
provided by the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) indicate 
that approximately 40,000 jobs in the UK are directly 
attributable to the nuclear energy sector.  The largest 
employers include the Sellafield site (11,000), British 
Energy (5,400), and the Magnox site (3,600). One concern, 
however, is that there is a dearth of "new blood" with 
technical expertise and that most of the workforce is nearing 
retirement.  To address this challenge, the UK Government and 
industry have formed partnerships to support investment in 
skills and training as well as nuclear energy research.  The 
National Skills Academy for Nuclear works with universities, 
technical institutes, and trade unions to provide funding for 
training initiatives.  Sellafield also runs its own nuclear 
engineering training program (ref B).  In addition, the 
University of Manchester Dalton Labs has a specialized 
program focused on nuclear research. 
 
Opportunities and Concerns for US Industry 
------------------------------------------ 
 
9. (SBU) U.S. companies, such as Westinghouse, CH2M Hill, and 
Fluor are very active in the UK nuclear industry sector. 
Westinghouse is currently one of the producers of the newest 
technologies, the AP1000 nuclear reactor, and hopes to 
partner with a UK or foreign electricity provider for the 
nuclear new build.  Most of Westinghouse's current business 
is in recycling and exporting spent fuel and uranium to other 
European countries and Japan.  CH2M Hill is focusing right 
now on decommissioning work, but hopes to partner with other 
companies for the nuclear new build.  URS is part of a 
consortium which received a contract in November 2008 to 
manage the Sellafield nuclear waste reprocessing facility. 
Fluor is also very involved in the UK nuclear energy sector. 
 
Foreign Competitors and Cooperation 
----------------------------------- 
 
10. (SBU) French-owned EDF and Areva are the biggest foreign 
players in the UK market.  EDF's acquisition of BE is of 
concern to US businesses.  It remains to be seen whether the 
remedy package approved by the EC goes far enough.  Besides 
 
LONDON 00003199  003 OF 003 
 
 
EDF, other foreign utilities include E.On (Germany), 
Iberdrola (Spain), RWE (Germany), Endessa (Spain), Suez 
(France), Union Fenosa (Spain), and Vattenfall (Sweden).  The 
UK gets most of its uranium (fuel) from Canada and Australia, 
and OND says this arrangement should not change significantly 
with the EDF purchase of BE.  The UK is active in the 
international community in cooperating on nuclear energy 
issues, and is a member of the European Atomic Energy 
Community (EURATOM), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership 
(GNEP), and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom 
 
TUTTLE