In a step designed to protect the taxpayer from huge decommissioning bills, and provide a degree of investor certainty, the UK government has set out statutory guidance for new nuclear operators to produce plans for funding the decommissioning of their power stations and safely managing their radioactive waste. This will enable new nuclear operators to come forward with clear plans to deal with decommissioning and radioactive waste management for approval by the Secretary of State.
Alongside this, the government has set out how it will calculate the price operators will pay for the disposal of nuclear waste in a geological disposal facility. The whole is the government's response to the consultation on Waste Transfer Pricing and sets out a framework for the safe disposal of nuclear waste from new nuclear power stations.
Making these announcements, energy minister Charles Hendry said: “We are determined to encourage investment in new nuclear in the UK, and have taken a number of steps to do this. Publishing this guidance today takes us another step closer to enabling that investment to come to fruition. Nuclear operators will have to prove they have a credible, plan for funding the decommissioning and safe management of their radioactive waste. This is the best way to protect taxpayers from having to pick up the bill.”
The Guidance sets out the following terms:
• operators must have insolvency-proof funds set aside for nuclear clean-up from day one of nuclear operation;
• operators must have a realistic, clearly-defined, and achievable plan for the decommissioning of any site, with a robust estimate of costs;
• funds set aside for clean up must be administered independently of the operator and the government.
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