The UK’s £80bn decommissioning programme will require new skills and techniques, providing major opportunities to new and existing firms. The decommissioning programme will provide major business opportunities for the next 15-20 years and beyond. The NDA plans to spend a large proportion of its budget in West Cumbria. This presents major opportunities for new and established West Cumbrian businesses to win contracts in decommissioning and to expand into national and international markets.
The Nuclear Opportunities Team work to strengthen and extend the existing local nuclear SME supply chain through engagement with Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, procurement and bidding support, teaming and partnering, development into national and international nuclear and non-nuclear decommissioning markets, provide enhanced information on contracting opportunities. This is achieved through Working Groups and projects.
Nuclear Waste
The area has internationally competitive skills and experience in radioactive waste handling, storing and packaging and will ensure that it is well placed to make the most of the opportunities that future government policy will provide for West Cumbrian businesses. Depending on government policy, there should also be opportunities in disposal in the national waste repository, when the decision in its siting has been made.
Nuclear New build
West Cumbria has strong skills and assets in Nuclear Power Generation. No assumption is made about the government’s decision with regard to new nuclear build but it is vital that Cumbrian stakeholders have the underpinning information to respond to the Energy Review Consultation documents and to prepare the way should the government decide to give the private sector the green light to go ahead with nuclear generation.
In order to do this, West Lakes Renaissance is working in collaboration with partners to take forward a study- ‘Meeting the Energy Challenge.
The requirements of the study are to;
1. Develop a technical, economic and planning review related to the current Energy Review, in particular the White Paper – The Future of Nuclear Power, the accompanying Site Assessment Criteria process, the siting discussion paper prepared last year by Jackson Consulting along with any other relevant material.
2. Build the business case for siting of nuclear new build in West Cumbria determining what is needed to deliver it in commercial terms.
3. And, as a last stage, should the government confirm the case for new build in the UK, provide a strategy for influencing any siting decision in West Cumbria or the North West, demonstrating how we can make that happen and how we can convince the private sector to build in West Cumbria.
International opportunities
The global decommissioning market is worth in the region of £300bn, with many techniques and services in areas such as environmental remediation being readily transferable to much wider markets. There are major opportunities for new and established West Cumbrian businesses to win contracts in decommissioning and to expand into national and international markets.
There have been a significant number of inward investments with several major multi-national companies locating in the area. Much of this investment stems from the collaborative working undertaken by Invest in Cumbria and West Lakes Renaissance. WLR and Invest in Cumbria, form part of the Virtual Inward Investment Team (VIT).
