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Nuclear experts back plans to cut radiation rules to speed up building nuclear power stations

• Radical science-led reforms to nuclear safety regulations could slash the cost of building a new reactor by billions of pounds.
• Costly design changes mandated by regulators to a planned reactor in Wales would have cut public exposure to radiation by the equivalent of eating a single banana.
• Slashing construction costs for new nuclear is critical to both decarbonisation and economic growth - Britain cannot play a major part in the AI revolution without constant and reliable clean power.

Britain Remade, the country’s leading pro-growth campaign group, has launched a new report: A Policy Playbook for Cheaper Nuclear, setting out a radical but science-led blueprint to slash the cost of building new nuclear power stations in Britain.

The report, which has the backing of the nuclear industry along with support from leading Labour and Conservative politicians, outlines over 30 major reforms that, if implemented in full, could slash billions of pounds off the cost of building a new nuclear reactor in Britain.

Britain is now the most expensive place in the world to build nuclear power stations with Hinkley Point C expected to cost £46 billion, or six times more per megawatt than equivalent plants in South Korea. France and Finland have been able to build the same European Pressure Reactor design for around half the cost.

Building nuclear power stations in Britain was not always so expensive. Britain used to be able to build nuclear power stations far cheaper. Sizewell B, completed in 1995 and the last nuclear plant completed in Britain, cost less than half of what Sizewell C is projected to cost.

Plants built in the 80s like Torness in Scotland, are expected to generate electricity at around half the lifetime cost per unit of Hinkley Point C. Even the Magnox reactors built in the 1950s and 70s, were substantially cheaper to build than what is being built today

Britain Remade’s plan, developed with leading experts at the Universities of Cambridge and Liverpool, identifies three main areas where science-led reforms could cut costs without impacting on the safe operation of a plant:

• Radiation regulation must be brought back in line with science.
  Nuclear power is one of the safest energy technologies. The highest exposed resident near Hinkley receives just 0.032 millisievert (mSv) per year - about the same as eating 320g of Brazil nuts. Even in a worst-case meltdown, modern safety systems mean exposure would be less than half the natural background dose experienced annually in Cornwall. Despite this, the Office of Nuclear Regulation has required costly design changes that deliver negligible safety benefits.
  
  When GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy planned to build two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors in Anglesey regulators demanded the installation of HEPA filters on each heating, ventilation and air-conditioning duct. The safety benefits were tiny to non-existent. The filters would cut public exposure to radiation by 0.0001mSv, in normal operation this is the same amount of radiation exposure experienced by eating one banana.
  
  The nuclear regulator should stop requiring costly changes to reactor designs that have been approved by counterparts abroad, such as those in the United States or the EU. The requirement to reduce the risk from radiation to 'as low as reasonably practicable' for doses ten times lower than someone is exposed to each year from the natural environment should be scrapped. While unscientific population density rules that restrict where a nuclear power station can be built should be reformed.

• Planning and environmental permitting must be streamlined.
  Sizewell C’s application ran to 80,000 pages and required over 160 separate permits. Britain Remade recommends amending the Habitats Regulations so that small or insignificant (de minimis) impacts cannot block projects, cutting duplicative post-consent permits, and introducing a “positive silence” meaning a Statutory Consultee failing to respond within 21 days would count as them having waived their right to object.
  
  The Habitats Regulations should also be amended to clarify that compensation measures can include measures that benefit the national network of protected sites, provided they either benefit features affected by the project or contribute towards meeting an Environment Act 2023 strategy in the vicinity of the project.
• Unlocking private investment in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
  New financing routes, including Contracts for Difference and power purchase agreements with AI data centres, could make smaller, factory-built reactors attractive to private investors. But investment is being held back by access to the grid.

Reducing the cost of new nuclear power in Britain is crucial - not just because nuclear must play a key role in the country’s clean energy mix, but because the defining technology of the 21st century, artificial intelligence, depends on power-hungry data centres that require constant, reliable electricity. 

If Britain cannot create the conditions for rapid, affordable nuclear deployment, then when forced to choose between decarbonisation and economic growth, cash-strapped governments facing major spending pressures are unlikely to choose the former.

Sam Richards, Chief Executive of Britain Remade, said:

“If we want a fleet of cheap, safe and reliable nuclear power plants, we need regulations that are rooted in science, not an overabundance of caution. Nuclear power is already as safe and clean as wind and solar, yet from expensive ‘fish discos’ to save a few fish to filters that would make no difference to radiation exposure we are burdening it with costs that deliver no benefit. With the right reforms, we can make nuclear affordable again – cutting bills, slashing emissions, and powering the industries of the future.”

Rt Hon Lord Hunt, former Minister of State for Nuclear, said:

“This report not only precisely lays out the issues that make building new nuclear power stations in Britain so expensive, but clearly outlines the bold but deliverable policies needed to address them. Nuclear is not just low-carbon; it is also reliable and provides the essential baseload power that Britain needs alongside renewables. It is not inevitable that Britain pays more than any other country in the world to build a nuclear plant. With the right policies, costs can be brought down without compromising on operational safety or the environment.”

Chris Curtis MP, Co-Chair Labour Growth Group, said:

“For too long Britain has effectively regulated itself out of access to clean, secure energy. This paper is a wake-up call that lays out a path to put an end to that. If other countries can build nuclear power at half the cost, so can we. Cutting bills, ending our reliance on gas, and securing the energy we need to grow depends on reforming boldly and quickly. The prize is securing the industries of the future and a stronger economy, while the cost of failure is further decades of decline.”

Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said:

“Britain needs growth, but we won’t get that without a lot more cheap, reliable, abundant energy. That means building more nuclear, just like we used to.  We ended the decades-long stop-start approach to nuclear in government, starting two new plants and signing off a third at Wylfa. But it’s still too expensive to build in Britain. This timely report by Britain Remade is therefore a must read for anyone serious about making nuclear energy cheaper, faster and easier to build.”

Tom Greatrex, CEO, Nuclear Industry Association, said:

"New nuclear will deliver jobs, economic growth and energy security, so it's important that we ensure projects can be delivered in the most efficient way possible. This report sets out how that can be achieved through streamlining reforms and taking a more proportionate approach to regulation while keeping the highest standards, helping deliver vital growth for Britain."

Michael Jenner, UK CEO, Last Energy

“A Policy Playbook for Cheaper Nuclear has been submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce as evidence as they review all aspects of the regulation of civil and defence nuclear.

“Britain Remade’s playbook shows the UK how to help innovators build; fix the bureaucratic costs and encourage bankable routes to market, then firms like Last Energy will build here at pace.”