Careers in the UK nuclear sector

A new era is dawning for the UK nuclear industry. A deal for Hinkley Point, the planned £24.5bn nuclear power station in Somerset, is set to be signed in October. It’s a major move for the UK nuclear sector, which hasn’t built a new power plant since the 1995 commissioning of Sizewell B.

More deals are expected to follow. There are currently 16 reactors with a total generating capacity of 10GW of electricity in the UK. They produce a sixth of the UK’s electricity – yet all but one will be retired by 2023. To replace ageing equipment, companies are investing £45bn in the first three nuclear power plants to be built in Anglesey, Cumbria and Somerset.

Overall, current proposals call for at least 11 new nuclear reactors at five sites: Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, both developed by EDF subsidiary NNB Genco; Wylfa Newydd and Oldbury by Horizon Nuclear Power; and Moorside by NuGen.  These power stations are hoped to produce up to 16GW of nuclear power capacity. But with new power stations being built alongside the decommissioning of existing facilities, the sector is in desperate need of new engineering talent.