NRI Corporate report 2022 - Flipbook - Page 25
“We are seeing a continued role for large
nuclear power plants in general, driven by
decarbonisation, but also energy security
and national security, which is why we are
receiving interest from countries like Ukraine,
Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.”
As talk turns to the potential for new
technologies, such as SMRs, AMRs and microreactors, to meet this demand, David is quick
to point out that they are still in development,
and underlines the key role traditional plants
will play in the near term.
“I still believe that large LWRs will continue for
decades and decades,” he explains. “They are
highly efficient, extremely safe and far less
expensive than Generation IV technology.
I think Generation IV will come, but it is going
to take a lot of government investment
before utilities will switch over.”
that we have the proper and strong nuclear
liability regimes in place around the world
which balance the risk of us providing
services and fuel. Some of the opportunities
that we have, particularly in the new build
area, are going to need a liability regime to
be implemented.
“Jointly ensuring that we have got the right
channelling legislation around the globe
is going to be important for us as we look
to new and former Soviet Union countries
for new build, future service and fuel
opportunities.”
NRI has worked closely with Westinghouse
for decades to ensure that the appropriate
liability regimes have been established
in a number of territories to support the
latter’s projects. How would Mike describe
that relationship?
What can insurers and regulators do to
support the development of that new
technology and give manufacturers the
confidence they need to pursue their plans?
“This is a very important relationship for
Westinghouse,” he says, “and it has been a
great one for us going back 20 years now. I
think about it on three dimensions.
“We have a role to work with regulators
to certify our designs,” says David. “If the
technology is radically different from what
the regulator has dealt with in the past, there
is a process we have to go through to share
our technology details and attributes, and
work with that regulator so that they get
comfortable that they could license it. That is
a learning process for everyone involved.”
“One is the transparency of ensuring we have
got the right level of insurance in place, which
covers the things we are looking to cover, at
the right price. On that level, working with NRI
has been great. We have been able to have
candid dialogue, when necessary, and, luckily,
we have only had to make one claim, which
was professionally handled and allowed us
to achieve the right result.
Focusing on the insurers’ role, Mike Sweeney,
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal
Officer at Westinghouse, adds: “It is important
“We also get a lot of information from
NRI about what is happening in the
industry, where the industry is going and
industry issues.
We are seeing a
continued role for large
nuclear power plants
in general, driven by
decarbonisation, but
also energy security and
national security.
“But I do think there are other initiatives
where we could probably work together for
the benefit of the nuclear industry. We have
opportunities to partner more efficiently to
tackle issues around the globe which are
particular to nuclear.”
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