Hammonds event explores nuclear potential
Law firm Hammonds LLP is hosting an event in Warrington next month to look at how to tap into work on the new generation of nuclear power stations being earmarked for the UK.
A fleet of new nuclear power stations is planned for the UK to safeguard Britain's energy supply and reduce carbon emissions. Several are planned for the North West, with the build cost up to £10bn on each.
Kevin Warren, business development manager for the nuclear sector at the NWDA, said: "The nuclear industry is a key component of the region's economic renaissance – a sector that can create real economic growth. England's North West has long been recognised as an international pioneer for the nuclear industry, with a renowned skills base and world class expertise in nuclear technology research & development."
The region already has one of the world's largest concentrations of nuclear facilities and expertise with over 25,000 skilled professionals, which equates to half of the UK's total nuclear workforce, who are employed in 300 companies across the North West.
There are also immense ongoing opportunities for business in the North West arising from the UK's legacy decommissioning programme. West Cumbria is home to the headquarters of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) who are responsible for overseeing safe decommissioning at UK sites. Almost 60% of the NDA's annual £2.8 billion budget is expended in the North West – primarily at Sellafield, which accounts for £1.5bn of expenditure.
Speakers at the Hammonds event include Robert Davies, vice-president new builds, Areva UK, Dick Raaz, managing director of LLW Repository and Kevin Warren, NWDA.
Claire Harvey, a nuclear specialist at Hammonds in Manchester, was one of the organisers of the event. She said: "New nuclear and nuclear decommissioning offer one of the biggest supply chain challenges across the broadest range of industry disciplines in generations. The developments will be on a par with the Olympics. They are huge plants with rail, road and sea port infrastructure. Now is the time to find out about how to get involved in the sector."
- The Hammonds 'New to Nuclear' seminar is a free event which is taking place at Birchwood Park on the 7 June. For more information please follow the link here
