Engineers warn of nuclear skills crisis

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMech) has today warned that the government's plan for a "renaissance" in low carbon nuclear power is in danger of stalling as a result of skills shortages, planning barriers and funding issues.

In a major new report the group predicted that, without increased investment in training programmes, the acceleration of planning processes and measures to incentivise investment in new reactors, the UK will not meet the government's target of building 10 new nuclear power stations over the next 15 years, the first of which is expected to come online by 2017.

The government last year announced high profile plans to develop a new fleet of reactors in the UK as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions and enhance energy security.

Ten new sites have been provisionally approved, while many of the UK's leading energy firms have confirmed plans to build new reactors and begun work on planning applications.

However, environmental groups are also preparing a host of legal challenges to the government's nuclear plans and, according to the IMech report, the strategy is already falling behind schedule.

The report states that, while the government has set a goal of producing 25GW of nuclear electricity by 2025, the industry has just this year cut back its nuclear connection plans by 28 per cent to 18.4GW. It warns that this figure could drop further to just 13GW once plans are finalised.

The report recommends that the government strengthens the investment case for new nuclear reactors by either guaranteeing a floor price for carbon through the emissions trading scheme in order to improve the competitiveness of low carbon energy sources, or offering loan guarantees to developers.

It also argues that, with each nuclear power plant expected to require 10,000 workers, including highly skilled engineers, the government should increase investment in skills development as part of a new training programme that would identify the "vital occupations" needed to develop low carbon infrastructure.

"Industry may well perceive government's good intentions towards a low carbon economy as nothing more than that," said Dr Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at IMech.

"For the nuclear energy sector to have the confidence to invest tens of billions in new plants or technologies, it will need strong and binding commitment, delivered in actions that will last, whichever party enters into power."

The report warned that, without greater support for new nuclear projects, the UK risked seeing emissions rise during the 2020s as all but one of Britain's 10 operating nuclear reactors are retired, and energy firms undertake a second " dash-for-gas" in an attempt to keep the lights on.