Tracking developments in the UK government’s nuclear new build action plan and assessing opportunities and timescales for the construction community

• Outlining the UK Government’s nuclear vision
• Examining the scale and value of the nuclear build programme to the construction industry
• Examining the progress of the National Policy Statement and the  establishment of the Infrastructure Planning Committee to assist the speedy realisation of the nuclear build programme
• Assessing how the planning and regulatory environment affects the appeal of the UK investment

Understanding the new planning environment for nuclear new build

• Clarifying the Strategic Siting Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment criteria for nuclear new build site selection
• Assessing the viability of nominated sites for UK nuclear new build
• Outlining the planning permission process and likely timescales for nuclear build planning applications and approvals

Updating the construction supply chain on the Generic Design Assessment process

• Examining the reactor generic design submissions by Areva and Westinghouse Electric
• Examining the process for approving reactor designs
• Reporting on  findings to date of the two remaining reactor designs
• Assessing timelines and determining whether the process will run to schedule

Nuclear new build: driving Britain’s migration towards a low carbon economy

• Recognising that nuclear energy is an important part of the low-carbon energy mix
• Guaranteeing the long term delivery of electricity at a competitive price
• Assessing the advantages of positioning Britain at the forefront of nuclear new build development

The view from National Grid

• Evaluating the key challenges of connecting new nuclear build to the grid
• Outlining the timeframe for new nuclear connections

Building the business case and justifying the investment in nuclear new build for the UK

• Bridging the gap between current and future energy needs of the UK
• Achieving energy security and offsetting the threat of rising fuel prices
• Evaluating the costs and benefits of a new build investment and determining a viable ROI for investors

Panel session: Assessing investment opportunities and securing finance for UK nuclear new build

• Understanding what investors are looking for from a UK nuclear build investment
• Examining essential Government actions to stimulate investment in the UK nuclear new build programme
• Reassuring investors about timescales, resources and economic viability
• Examining how to reduce the potential risks associated with investing in UK nuclear new build

Examining the decommissioning landscape and assessing the impact the current decommissioning process will have on the extent of new build development 

• Determining the success of the current decommissioning process
• Evaluating how the decommissioning process has influenced public opinion and affected attitudes towards a new build programme
• Costing waste management and decommissioning and assessing the impact on the overall business case for investors
• Examining innovative waste management strategies and the impact on time and cost of decommissioning
• Decommissioning reactors - new versus old
• Learning from current decommissioning and accelerating future decommissioning timescales

Closing remarks from the chair

Opening remarks from the Chair

EDF's approach to the UK EPR programme

• Outlining the scope and timelines for  EDFs UK nuclear programme
• Examining key opportunities for the nuclear supply chain: what, where and when
• Understanding what EDF is looking for in its supply chain partners

Setting the UK nuclear new build programme in the wider global context

• Examining global drivers for nuclear energy and nuclear new build agendas across the globe
• Tracking progress in building nuclear reactors in other regions and comparing the market and regulatory context
• Evaluating the impact of nuclear new build activity on the global nuclear skills industry, resources and supply chains
• Assessing the potential consequences of the UK nuclear new build plan falling behind schedule

Tanguy Cathelain
International Nuclear Academy Director
Burgundy Nuclear Partnership

Forming alliances and partnering agreements to win and deliver nuclear new build contracts

• Determining a criteria for establishing effective alliances to deliver contracts on time and budget
• Extracting learnings from partnership agreements from other national infrastructure projects
• Examining the success of the Burgundy Nuclear Partnership in increasing members’ skills and competitiveness

Evaluating different procurement options for nuclear new build and meeting clients’ requirements

• Gaining an understanding of the procurement criteria for selecting supply chain partners
• Evaluating the pros and cons of different forms of contract and assessing the likely form to be used
• Rating the importance of different procurement criteria: quality, price, experience and existing relationships
• Increasing your desirability to win contracts and compete against existing supply chain partners

Meeting nuclear construction standards: improving construction rigour and quality

• Examining to what extent nuclear build construction differs from other civil engineering and construction projects
• Developing skills to deliver to the high standards required
• Understanding the full extent of nuclear construction projects to accurately price and set realistic deliverable deadlines
• Evaluating the time and cost associated with meeting nuclear accreditation for material, plant & equipment

Examining nuclear new build supply chain initiatives to prepare, mobilise and engage the UK construction industry

• Assessing the key findings from the NIA’s report on the UK’s capability to deliver a new nuclear build programme
• Examining the regional and sector based initiatives being developed to improve the capability of the UK supply chain
• Raising awareness of UK and international nuclear new build opportunities

Alex Walsh
Head of Civil Nuclear Programmes
BAE Systems

Panel session: Ensuring the UK construction industry has the skilled workforce to meet its nuclear new build commitment

• Identifying large scale civil engineering projects planned post 2013 and the impact on the availability of resource for nuclear build
• Determining whether planning delays will impact on the skilled workforce available
• Assessing how to ensure high quality from a workforce lacking in nuclear experience
• Filling the experience and leadership gap with training and a pooling of knowledge
• Tracking progress in regenerating  the UK skills base

Simon Harrison
Energy Director
Mott Mac Donald

Nigel Normington
Partner
BartonWillmore

Project delivery round table discussion
Time delays have affected the delivery of nuclear new build installations in Finland and France. In this session, ‘delegates will have the opportunity to discuss strategies for ensuring the timely delivery of UK new build contracts. Key topics to be discussed:

• Partnerships
• Major project planning
• Meeting delivery and budgetary deadlines
• Sharing best practice examples

Panel Session: Overcoming the threat of potential bottlenecks in the materials and component manufacturers’ supply chain

• Forecasting global demand for key components and materials required for nuclear build projects
• Meeting nuclear accreditation for material, plant and equipment and assessing the impact on the supply chain
• Determining how to overcome potential supply bottlenecks

Closing remarks from the Chair