UK ENERGY LAW AND NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPANSION AND REFORM

Introduction

Nuclear energy expansion and reform has become an important part of United Kingdom energy policy because nuclear generation can provide large-scale, low-carbon and relatively continuous electricity alongside variable renewable generation. UK nuclear law combines energy policy, nuclear safety, environmental protection, planning law, radioactive-waste regulation, financing and public-law accountability. The government’s Civil Nuclear Roadmap set an ambition of deploying up to 24 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050, potentially through large reactors, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs).

Legal and Regulatory Framework

The principal safety legislation is the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. Nuclear installations generally require a nuclear site licence issued by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The licensing system applies throughout the facility lifecycle and enables ONR to impose and enforce safety requirements. It also connects nuclear operation with third-party liability arrangements.

Major new nuclear stations also interact with the Planning Act 2008, environmental assessment requirements and relevant National Policy Statements. Large generating stations classified as nationally significant infrastructure projects normally require a Development Consent Order.

Reform increasingly focuses on making this framework suitable for different reactor technologies. The Civil Nuclear Roadmap proposed a more flexible nuclear siting framework capable of accommodating large reactors, SMRs and AMRs rather than relying exclusively on the limited sites identified for conventional large-scale nuclear development.

Expansion, SMRs and Institutional Reform

The UK’s proposed expansion represents a movement from isolated individual projects toward a more continuous nuclear programme. Government policy envisages investment decisions capable of delivering approximately 3–7 GW every five years from 2030 to 2044, subject to future decisions and value-for-money considerations.

SMRs are particularly important because modular construction may permit greater standardisation, replication and potentially more flexible deployment. Advanced reactors could additionally contribute industrial heat, hydrogen production or other energy-system services.

Institutional reform has also involved Great British Nuclear, established to support delivery of the new nuclear programme and initially tasked with advancing the SMR programme and advising government on barriers to nuclear investment.

Financing and Consumer Protection

Nuclear expansion requires substantial long-term capital investment. Consequently, legal reform must allocate construction, financing and operational risks between investors, government and electricity consumers. Nuclear policy must therefore balance security of supply and decarbonisation against affordability and value-for-money considerations.

Long-lived nuclear projects also require funded arrangements for eventual decommissioning and radioactive-waste management. Government policy increasingly emphasises designing decommissioning obligations into projects from their beginning rather than leaving future generations to absorb their financial consequences.

CASE LAW

Case Name/Citation: R (Together Against Sizewell C Ltd) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [2023] EWCA Civ 1517

Facts: The Secretary of State granted a Development Consent Order in 2022 for the construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning of Sizewell C in Suffolk. Together Against Sizewell C challenged the decision, including the assessment of how the project would obtain a permanent potable-water supply.

Legal Issue: Whether the Secretary of State had lawfully conducted the required habitats assessment and whether the water-supply infrastructure should have been treated as part of the nuclear project for environmental assessment purposes.

Judgment: The Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge. It held that identifying the scope of a project for habitats-assessment purposes involves factual and evaluative judgment by the competent decision-maker, subject to ordinary public-law review.

Legal Principle/Ratio: Functional connections between developments do not automatically require them to be treated as one project. The legality of the assessment depends upon whether the decision-maker adopted a rational and legally permissible approach to the statutory environmental regime.

Significance: The case demonstrates that nuclear expansion remains subject to rigorous planning and environmental-law requirements even where government policy strongly supports additional nuclear capacity.

Future Reform Challenges

Expansion requires coordination between planning authorities, ONR, environmental regulators and energy institutions. Reform must also address radioactive waste, nuclear-security obligations, specialist workforce shortages, supply-chain resilience and suitable sites. Government policy envisages a Geological Disposal Facility capable of supporting waste arising from a substantially expanded nuclear programme, although long-term disposal remains a major governance challenge.

Regulatory streamlining must therefore not mean weakening nuclear safety. Faster deployment depends more sustainably on predictable licensing, standardised reactor designs, regulatory cooperation and earlier assessment of safety and environmental requirements.

Conclusion

UK nuclear-energy reform represents a transition toward a broader and potentially continuous nuclear construction programme incorporating conventional reactors, SMRs and advanced technologies. The legal framework combines the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, planning and environmental law, licensing, financing, waste management and judicial review. Nuclear expansion may support decarbonisation and energy security, but projects remain legally dependent upon demonstrable safety, environmental compliance, transparent planning decisions and credible arrangements for financing, decommissioning and radioactive waste.