Last night we had the pleasure of joining ~30 other nuclear industry professionals hearing from Adrian Bull who is due to take over the NI Presidency position in January 2026.
Adrian’s background with the Dalton Nuclear Institute, Westinghouse, the BNFL and NNL, mean that Adrian was well-placed to take us on a journey through nuclear.
We were given an interesting insight to the nuclear sector through the ages beginning with the post-war resurgence and technical advancement, through to the present day focusing on nuclear new build, the GDF and SMRs.
A summary of topics:
The 1970’s was a time when the reputation of the nuclear industry was not great mainly due to the Windscale and Three-Mile Island disasters.
During the 1980’s Britain had an enlarged nuclear fleet and the nuclear baseload helped the nation; however, in April 1986 the Chernobyl accident happened. Plans for a fleet of 10 PWRs were thwarted and instead only one was built, Sizewell B.
In the 1990’s, “Dash for Gas” was the was the focus as the electricity supply sector was broken up and privatised. Several Magnox sites were closed while SZB came online in 1995.
Throughout the early 2000’s the government lacked the mechanisms to make nuclear happen and by 2008 there was policy support, but no direct funding route for the sector.
The industry was not without its bad press and, unfortunately, in 2011 the Fukushima disaster happened. While this happened there were different financing models which allowed Hinkley Point C to progress.
The fracking of gas was the main concern for the public and by the 2020’s Sizewell C and SMRs don’t have significant public opposition. Energy security and affordability have become the important topics compared to net zero. The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused high volatility and the GDF siting process sparked local concerns.
In conclusion, it was apparent that the nuclear industry needs to work harder and smarter in the way we communicate. What is the message? What voice do we need to speak in at a given time? What channel do we utilise to spread this message? Who are the audience we are talking to? And, perhaps a good starting point, what outcome are we trying to achieve?
Adrian gave us lots to think about and there were some thoughtful questions during the Q&A at the end of the presentation.