The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Consultation starts on Draft Business Plan 2009-2012

12 November 2008

 

The NDA has published its draft Business Plan 2009-12 for consultation. Stakeholders are invited to submit their views by 26 January 2009.

 Draft Business Plan 2009-2012 (5.5Mb)

The document sets out how with £8.55 billion worth of funding over the three years we have secured the highest ever level of Government spending on nuclear decommissioning.

• Our total planned expenditure in 2009/10 is £2817.8 million of which £1,612 million will be funded by Grant-in-Aid and £1,205.8 million by income from commercial operations.
• In 2010/11, we plan to spend £2,784.6 million of which £1,707.5 million will be funded by Grant-in-Aid and £1,077.1 million by commercial income.
• Our estimated expenditure in 2011/12 (assuming 2010/11 level funding adjusted to take account of inflation, is £2,870.9 million.
• Expenditure on our programme has also increased year on year. This year (08/09) our programme expenditure is £2,892 million which compares with £2,418 million for 05/06, our first year of operations.

Our objectives for the period 2009/10 to 2011/12 are designed to ensure that our planned activities are prioritised effectively to meet the Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) to manage energy liabilities effectively and responsibly. In support of this, the NDA is required to “establish a safe, affordable, innovative and dynamic market for clean-up and decommissioning” and to ensure progress in tackling the civil nuclear liability in line with agreed end-states for the NDA’s sites and delivering value for money.

Prioritising Funding

Our top priority is to deal with the high hazard, high risk facilities, the majority of which are at Sellafield and Dounreay. In allocating funds we have a duty to ensure that the risks presented by these facilities are maintained at a tolerable level. We also recognise the need to maintain progress in decommissioning all our sites and to deliver best value.

Our overall goal is to achieve the safe and secure decommissioning of the nuclear legacy and deliver environmental restoration of our sites to agreed end states.

The absence of a waste disposition route for activated graphite, and the limited possibility of securing necessary funding, makes its difficult at this stage for us to pursue either the wholesale acceleration of Magnox reactor decommissioning or the selection of a lead Magnox site for early site clearance. Nevertheless we will continue to explore radioactive waste disposal solutions which may support early site clearance, subject to an appropriate business case being made.

In the meantime Magnox reactors will continue to be defuelled in line with the timescales published in the Magnox Operating Programme (MOP 8) and taken into Care and Maintenance.

Establishing a baseline detailing the cost of delivering our programme was a key strategic objective for the NDA. After three years of effort, we now have a detailed baseline estimate, against which future movements in liabilities can be mapped. This is a significant achievement and, whilst there are still areas of uncertainty, a large proportion of our estate has been well characterised. Our focus over the Business Plan period will be to identify opportunities to reduce liabilities in line with the DSO target.

Socio-Economic Funding

We will continue to work with the regional development agencies, the Enterprise Networks in Scotland and other agencies to help create a sustainable future for communities affected by decommissioning. Our approach is described in more detail in our socio-economic policy.

We have made provision to spend up to £10million on socio-economic support and development in each of the next three years, subject to achieving the value for money savings required by the DSO, and the availability of suitable projects.

Skills

We are responsible for ensuring that there is an appropriately skilled workforce available to deliver our mission. The establishment of Energus will mark an important milestone in the delivery of the Skills Strategy. We expect Energus, a flagship of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, to obtain formal accreditation and receive the first intake of apprentices in 2009/10.

Our national graduate programme will accept its third cohort in September 2009. We will continue to support the establishment of the Dalton Cumbria Facility and its research groups, while contributing to the success of the University of Cumbria.

We will also continue to establish a national Nuclear Archive in Caithness and to support the Government in establishing the national Nuclear Laboratory.

Strategy Review

The review of our Strategy will be completed in 2010/11 and will be informed by a Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) that will evaluate the environmental impact of different options and inform our decisions. We will engage with stakeholders and begin a public consultation on our revised draft Strategy document in summer 2010. Subject to Ministerial approval, we expect to publish our revised Strategy early in 2011.

Revenue Optimisation

We will continue to determine the level of market interest in NDA land and other assets both for new nuclear build and for other purposes. This will include determining the optimum strategy for the Springfields and Capenhurst sites as well as our uranic material, in order to maximise value from our estate and reduce NDA liabilities.

Continued operation of the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) will be dependent on the outcome of the strategic review undertaken in 2008/9. The future of the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield is also subject to review.

Subject to Government and regulatory approval, we will explore opportunities to extend the generating lives of Oldbury and Wylfa beyond their currently planned closure dates, using existing fuel supplies within Magnox Operating Programme (MoP) timescales.

Integrated Waste Management

The development of a UK-wide strategy for the management of nuclear industry Low Level Waste (LLW) is a key objective for the NDA. Working with LLW Repository Limited, we will also seek to ensure that all site licensees manage wastes by appropriate application of the waste hierarchy.

The implementation of a programme for geological disposal of higher activity wastes is a core part of the NDA’s remit. Currently, the Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) within the NDA is responsible for delivering the geological disposal programme. Eventually, we will develop RWMD into a separate Site Licence Company (SLC) responsible for the construction and operation of the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). By December 2009, RWMD will be operating as a ‘prospective SLC’. The industry regulators and the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) will continue to scrutinise our plans and programmes and provide advice to the Government.

Competition and the Supply Chain

A healthy supply chain has never been more important to the NDA as we continue our efforts to develop a competitive UK clean-up industry. We will implement our Supply Chain Development Strategy now available on the website.

After the pause to our competition programme in 2007/8, we have reviewed both the site bundling arrangements and timescales for our future competitions. This has enabled us to consider the lessons learned from the first two competitions and ensure that they are applied appropriately. Following review, discussion and agreement with relevant stakeholders, we intend to announce our plans for future competitions in 2008/9, followed by a period of market engagement.

In line with the Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) agreed between the Department for Business, Enterprise and regulatory reform (BERR) and HM Treasury as part of the CSR07 settlement, the NDA is required to achieve value for money savings of at least 3% per annum average over the CSR07 period. This equates to cumulative savings of £240 million over the period.

Your View

Stakeholders can submit their views on the plan online until 26 January 2009 at: http://nda.dialoguebydesign.net