Simpler regulations spearhead UK taskforce plan to get new nuclear reactors built | Nuclear power

A government task force has finalized plans to speed up the commissioning of next-generation nuclear reactors and reduce the cost by streamlining UK regulations.

The nuclear regulatory taskforce was set up by prime minister Keir Starmer in February after the government pledged to scrap “legacy rules” and cut regulations to “get people building in Britain”.

In August, it published its interim report, which led a coalition of 25 civil society groups to warn of the dangers of cutting nuclear safety regulations. It was stated that the proposals lacked “credibility and rigor”.

The taskforce was led by John Fingleton, the former head of the Office of Fair Trading. He said of the final report: “Our solutions are radical but necessary. By simplifying regulation, we can maintain or improve safety standards while delivering nuclear capacity safely, quickly and cost-effectively.”

The proposals include restructuring the nuclear industry’s regulatory bodies to create a single commission for nuclear regulation and changing environmental and planning regimes “to enhance nature and deliver projects faster”.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the new rules would form a key part of delivering the changes needed to introduce new nuclear power “safely and cost-effectively”.

The report was welcomed by Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association. He said the report offers “an unprecedented opportunity to make nuclear regulation more consistent, transparent and efficient”, which could make projects “faster and less costly”.

“Expensive and bureaucratic processes often stand in the way of our energy security, the fight against the climate crisis and the protection of the natural environment for which nuclear is vital,” he added.

Sam Richards, chief executive of pro-nuclear campaign group Britain Remade, said this could be a “watershed moment for reducing the cost of new nuclear in Britain”.

“The taskforce’s findings reveal a repeat of regulations that have made the UK the most expensive place in the world to build nuclear power stations,” Richards said.

“At a time when the UK’s electricity bills are among the highest in the world, our regulatory system has forced EDF to spend nearly £280,000 per protected fish. This is untenable. Such changes have added years and billions in costs to construction, with the end result being passed on to consumers in higher bills.”

Fingleton added: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The problems are systemic, rooted in unnecessary complexity and a mindset that favors process over outcome.”