New nuclear build: adaptation options over the full life-cycle

Abstract

Nuclear power is an important part of the UK Government's plan to improve energy security, and build a more balanced, decarbonised economy. Recent legislation establishes a framework for selecting potential sites for new nuclear build (NNB) and the terms for meeting the full costs of decommissioning and waste management. In this context, there are specific requirements to consider flood risk and to adapt to climate change. However, there is uncertainty about how climate risks might evolve and how these could be managed within each phase of a plant's life-cycle: design, operation, decommissioning and fuel storage. Given that sites will need to be secure for at least 160 years, the possibility of rising sea level ighe sea temperatur s, and more extreme weather events cannot be ignored. This paper describes the engineering and non-structural adaptation options for NNB sites, illustrated with reference to the east coast of England. Despite large uncertainty about climate scenarios for the 2200s, we explain how flexibility of design and safety margins can be incorporated from outset and, when combined with routine environmental monitoring, how sites could be adaptively managed throughout their life-cycle

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Identifiers

ORCID for R.J. Nicholls: orcid.org/0000-0002-9715-1109

ORCID for D. Clarke: orcid.org/0000-0002-5433-5258

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