by Dick Meredith, London Press Service (Image by British Nuclear Fuels Group Ltd)

CUMBRIA, in north-west England, is at the forefront of the United Kingdom's nuclear renaissance. The region is set to play a pivotal role as part of the government's newly unveiled Low Carbon Economic Area for Nuclear.

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills has announced that north-west England and Yorkshire have become the UK's Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) for Nuclear.

LCEA status recognises the nuclear industry's unique assets and capabilities in the region, and reflects the government's desire for this geographical hub to play an important role to accelerate nuclear developments across the whole of the UK.

West Cumbria is the country's most important location for advanced nuclear engineering, fuel reprocessing and decommissioning.
It is home to Sellafield; the UK's only Low Level Waste Repository; the National Nuclear Laboratory and National Skills Academy for Nuclear, based at Energus; and the University of Central Lancashire's recently revamped campus UCLan@Westlakes based at Westlakes Science & Technology Park that is one of the most important clusters of nuclear-related businesses in Europe.

These world-class facilities will be bolstered further by the University of Manchester's 20 million pounds teaching and education centre, the Dalton Cumbria Facility.

Cumbria also has three of the 10 sites proposed for new nuclear power stations, with public-sector partners behind the Britain's Energy Coast initiative leading the nomination of a site adjacent to Sellafield. All three sites are currently going through the first stage of a public consultation led by the Department for Energy & Climate Change.

Just two weeks after being purchased from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority by a consortium of UK, Spanish and French energy giants, land next to the existing Sellafield facility was included in the Department for Energy & Climate Change's proposals.
Britain's Energy Coast initiative aims to establish West Cumbria as a nationally significant generator of low carbon and renewable energy over the next 20 years.

Two other locations in Cumbria, RWE npower's sites at Braystones and Kirksanton have also made the list going forward to the public consultation phase.

Brian Wilson, a former UK energy minister and the chairman of Britain's Energy Coast initiative, said: "The government's list leaves no doubt that West Cumbria is at the heart of Britain's nuclear renaissance. This makes complete sense because the skills, experience and commitment to nuclear new-build are all here to be tapped.

"Momentum is clearly gathering behind the site next to Sellafield, and its inclusion in the draft list is another step towards securing a new power station which could be generating electricity by the early 2020s.

"All three of Cumbria's sites must be put under the microscope and opened up to consultation. But time is of the essence. It is now generally accepted that we need nuclear new-build and the only question is where to site it," added Brian Wilson.
West Cumbria can claim to be at the forefront when it comes to the global nuclear industry and boasts considerable expertise in renewable energy; including offshore wind farms, oil and gas.

The area has many strengths and assets that are of national and international importance. Not only is the local level of employment and research and development (R&D) well above the regional average but there is already a high level of skills in environmental remediation, engineering and nuclear decommissioning.

The consortium that now owns the Sellafield site comprises Iberdrola SA, GDF Suez SA and Scottish & Southern Energy plc. If successful, their aim would be to begin construction of the power station in 2015, and to be generating electricity by about 2021.
Roger Liddle, chairman of the strategic economic development agency Cumbria Vision, said: "New nuclear power is a key to unlocking 140 billion pounds' worth of energy and related business opportunities in Cumbria, which in turn will create thousands of skilled and well-paid jobs and stimulate investment in projects to help make this area a superb place to live and work."

The Energy Coast initiative aims to establish the boroughs of Copeland, Allerdale and Furness as major generators of low-carbon and renewable energy, helping to transform the local economy while at the same time supporting the UK's response to the pressing challenges of climate change and energy security.

The initiative includes not only the construction of a least one new nuclear reactor, but also improvements in grid transmission, infrastructure, education, hospitals, skills and R&D and enterprise as well as the development of other renewable and low-carbon energy sources. Together, these developments will transform the economy along Cumbria's west coast, while providing clean sustainable energy for the UK.

Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, said: "The inclusion of three sites in the region is further testimony to the region's high-calibre nuclear facilities, technical expertise and research ability. The potential foreconomic growth as a result ofnew nuclear isconsiderable and, with over 300 companies in the north-west's nuclear supply chain, it is expected our businesses will play a leading role in the design, construction and operation of new nuclear power plants."

After the public consultation ends on 22 February, the Department for Energy & Climate Change will consider the responses before seeking Parliament's approval. A newly created Infrastructure Planning Commission will then receive individual applications for new nuclear power stations at the agreed sites, starting the formal planning procedure.