A NEW BRITISH ENERGY SECURITY Strategy published by the UK government in April had a revived nuclear programme at its centre. It included plans for "up to eight" new reactors by 2030, trumpeted by the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as a programme that would see new reactors gaining approval at a rate of one per year, rather than - as now - one per decade.The strategy was welcomed by Sama Bilbao y Leon, director general at the World Nuclear Association, who 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 strategy aims for nuclear energy to be supplying 25% of the UK's electricity needs in 2050, in a fully decarbonised generation mix. It includes plans to develop small modular reactors and advanced reactors that will have applications beyond electricity production. The strategy was welcome in some quarters, not least from those who pointed out that the UK's current fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) were set to close down over the next decade and their low-carbon supply would have to be replaced.
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