Latest news with #nuclearengineering
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sizewell C will be 'colossal for job opportunities'
Young people will benefit from a "colossal" jobs boom during and beyond the construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station, local educators believe. On Tuesday, the government announced it would be investing a further £14.2bn into the energy project on the Suffolk coast, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves said would "kickstart" economic growth. Bosses say Sizewell C will support up to 70,000 jobs across the UK once completed and 1,500 apprenticeships have been pledged - designed to provide the skills needed for a career in nuclear engineering. East Coast College student Skye Dorward credited Sizewell with "increasing the number of opportunities and pathways" into the industry for young people. Engineering student Ms Dorward, 19, has secured a nuclear engineering degree apprenticeship with EDF, the French state-owned firm that will build the third Sizewell plant, which she hopes will lead to a job there. "The work and educational prospects it offers to young people is so great," she said. "The challenges and opportunities Sizewell C is presenting are outstanding, so coming back to Suffolk to work on Sizewell C would be really good. "I would love the chance to work on that project." Sizewell C will be a two-reactor nuclear power station that could generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity for 60 years. But it is not just nuclear engineering roles that will need to be filled. The wider Sizewell C project will require workers from several industries - including construction, catering,d digital marketing, IT and hospitality. The chancellor called it a "landmark decision" to invest £14.2bn, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the investment was necessary to usher in a "golden age of clean energy". While it will take at least a decade to complete, Reeves said it would be the "biggest nuclear building programme in a generation". Sizewell C was originally estimated to cost £20bn. However, industry experts predicted that could double - a claim that was rejected by EDF, which is also building the new Hinkley Point plant in Somerset that has gone over budget. Investment into Sizewell C came in a series of announcements in the run-up to the government's Spending Review. Sizewell C nuclear plant gets £14bn go-ahead from government Updates: Local and national reaction to Tuesday's announcement of £14.2bn investment No blank cheque for Sizewell C says Starmer, as £14.2bn investment confirmed Emma Taylor, director of business development and major projects at Suffolk New College, said Sizewell C posed a "colossal opportunity for great new jobs". The college and Sizewell have long worked together to develop curricula that will give students the best chance of capitalising on the jobs the plant could generate. What is Sizewell C and what does it mean for Suffolk? "We have been really integral to their conversations about what are the key roles that are going to be needed to enable this project," Ms Taylor told the BBC. "A number of our students really see the opportunities [Sizewell C offers] and that is growing and we're absolutely passionate to enable [them to pursue] those opportunities. "There is a growth in the number of young people applying for construction courses and we are no exception – we've had real growth in that area, which is fantastic." Leiston was once a thriving manufacturing town but, in more recent years, many feel it has lacked the capacity to provide career opportunities. According to the ONS, 79.1% of people in East Suffolk, however, were already in paid work or had a job, with an average weekly wage of £604. Julia Pyke, managing director of Sizewell C, told the BBC she was "committed" to ensuring at least one third of the workforce was made of local people. "There will be a lot of high quality jobs in an area which is quite remote and where there isn't currently enough high quality employment," she said. Phil Stittle, executive director of business and skills at West Suffolk College, said he was determined to ensure anyone could benefit from the jobs boom. "As an educator, we need to ensure the next generation understands that [Sizewell C] is going to be a great option for people to go and work at," he told the BBC. "But we also work with a lot of different agencies that support adult retraining, those that come from the military and prison and even care leavers. "We are looking to make sure we are not leaving anybody behind by training everyone that we can to support that big need [for jobs]. "I think the positives of Sizewell C far outweigh the negatives." At the construction's height, the project will command the expertise and labour of 10,000 people – about 4,000 more than actually live in nearby Leiston. For locals, this has long proved a concern, with some worried about whether or not the town will be able to cope with such an influx of people. Some also fear the workforce demand at Sizewell C will dry up the employment pool available for local businesses. Jenny Kirtley, from Together Against Sizewell C, said: "I think it will have a huge impact on local businesses. "Whether it's building firms or in hospitality, people cannot match the Sizewell C money and the wages they are paying." But Sizewell C joint managing director, Ms Pyke, disagrees. "We are offering people progression and by investing in education and training we hope the amount of people wanting to work in East Suffolk increases so that all needs can be met," she said. "We are not going to be paying out of line wages to people for similar jobs or luring people from their current jobs." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. What is Sizewell C and what does it mean for Suffolk? Sizewell C boss 'optimistic' it will get go-ahead 'Greedy landlords are cashing in and forcing us out of town' Sizewell C pledged to lower bills but will take at least 10 years No blank cheque for Sizewell C says Starmer, as £14.2bn investment confirmed East Coast College West Suffolk College Suffolk New College Sizewell C Together Against Sizewell C
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Sizewell C will be colossal for job opportunities in Suffolk'
Students in Suffolk will benefit from a "colossal" jobs boom during and beyond the construction of Sizewell C, local educators C bosses say the project will support as many as 70,000 jobs across the UK once complete, with 10,000 workers required throughout the peak of the part of the development 1,500 apprenticeships have also been pledged, designed to equip the next generation with the skills needed for a career in nuclear Coast College student Skye Dorward credited Sizewell C with "increasing the number of opportunities and pathways" into the industry for young people. Engineering student Ms Dorward, 19, has secured a nuclear engineering degree apprenticeship with EDF, which she hopes will lead to a job at the plant."The work and educational prospects it offers to young people is so great," she said."The challenges and opportunities Sizewell C is presenting are outstanding, so coming back to Suffolk to work on Sizewell C would be really good."I would love the chance to work on that project."Sizewell C, which is expected to cost about £20bn to build, will be a two-reactor nuclear power station that could generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity for 60 it's not just nuclear engineering roles that will need to be wider Sizewell C project will require workers from several industries - including construction, catering and digital marketing, IT and hospitality. Emma Taylor, director of business development and major projects at Suffolk New College, said Sizewell C posed a "colossal opportunity for great new jobs".The college and Sizewell have long worked together to develop curricula that will give students the best chance of capitalising on the jobs the plant could generate."We have been really integral to their conversations about what are the key roles that are going to be needed to enable this project," Ms Taylor told the BBC."A number of our students really see the opportunities [Sizewell C offers] and that is growing and we're absolutely passionate to enable [them to pursue] those opportunities."There is a growth in the number of young people applying for construction courses and we are no exception – we've had real growth in that area, which is fantastic." 'Quite remote' Leiston was once being a thriving manufacturing town but, in more recent years, many feel it has lacked the capacity to provide career to the ONS, 79.1% of people in East Suffolk, however, were already in paid work or had a job, with an average weekly wage of £ Pyke, managing director of Sizewell C, told the BBC she was "committed" to ensuring at least one third of the workforce was made of local people."There will be a lot of high quality jobs in an area which is quite remote and where there isn't currently enough high quality employment," she said. Phil Stittle, executive director of business and skills at West Suffolk College, said he was determined to ensure anyone could benefit from the jobs boom."As an educator, we need to ensure the next generation understands that [Sizewell C] is going to be a great option for people to go and work at," he told the BBC."But we also work with a lot of different agencies that support adult retraining, those that come from the military and prison and even care leavers."We are looking to make sure we are not leaving anybody behind by training everyone that we can to support that big need [for jobs]."I think the positives of Sizewell C far outweigh the negatives." On Tuesday, the government confirmed it would be investing a further £14.2bn in the scheme, having already previously pledged £ the construction's height, the project will command the expertise and labour of 10,000 people – about 4,000 more than actually live in nearby locals, this has long proved a concern, with some worried about whether or not the town will be able to cope with such an influx of also fear the workforce demand at Sizewell C will dry up the employment pool available for local Kirtley, from Together Against Sizewell C, said: "I think it will have a huge impact on local businesses."Whether it's building firms or in hospitality, people cannot match the Sizewell C money and the wages they are paying." But Sizewell C joint managing director, Ms Pyke, disagrees."We are offering people progression and by investing in education and training we hope the amount of people wanting to work in East Suffolk increases so that all needs can be met," she said."We are not going to be paying out of line wages to people for similar jobs or luring people from their current jobs." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The estimated cost for US nuclear weapons nears $1 trillion in new report
May 11—Rising prices aren't just coming for eggs and avocados. The estimated price tag for the country's nuclear forces is 25% more than it was in 2023, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates nuclear forces will cost $946 billion from 2025 through 2034, about $95 billion every year. In 2023, the 10-year estimate was $756 billion for 2023-2032. Some of those increases are coming from the cost for modernizing production facilities for nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Projected costs for command, control, communications and early-warning systems have also seen a substantial increase. The co-founder of an anti-nuclear nonprofit called the increase staggering. A higher bar for laboratory safety standards contributes to the high price for producing new nuclear warheads, according to a professor on nuclear engineering. Many of the country's nuclear forces, including submarines that launch ballistic missiles, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, long-range bomber aircraft and shorter-range tactical aircraft carrying bombs and nuclear warheads, will need to be refurbished or replaced over the next 20 years, according to the report. "Over the coming years, lawmakers will need to decide what nuclear forces the United States should field in the future and therefore the extent to which the nation will continue to modernize, and perhaps expand, those forces," the report states. Some of the cost increase, at least $65 billion, does not reflect actual rising costs. Instead, it's simply because the new estimate focuses on a slightly later time period when nuclear arsenal modernization will be further along. Later development and production phases tend to be more expensive, according to the report. Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration, is one of two sites that will produce new plutonium pits to replace old warheads. Last year, the lab made its first new production unit plutonium pit. Spherical plutonium pits cause nuclear fission when compressed and are at the core of every nuclear explosive. The majority of the projected cost increases are associated with Department of Defense programs. But the "laboratories, plants, and sites across the nation are an integral part of our nuclear security program," an NNSA spokesperson said in a statement. President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are committed to "modernizing our nuclear deterrent," the spokesperson said. "NNSA is currently executing seven different warhead modernization programs which require the national security laboratories' expertise in weapons programs, design and engineering, and production," the spokesperson said. The first-ever plutonium pits were made during the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, but many subsequent pits were produced in Colorado until the 1980s. The way pits are manufactured now has changed significantly from how it was done decades ago, said Carl Willis, a professor in the University of New Mexico's Department of Nuclear Engineering. What is considered acceptable in terms of safety for human health and the environment has changed since the country previously made plutonium pits, contributing to a higher production cost, Willis said. "We're building these new facilities from scratch, and the understanding of industrial hygiene, and particularly the hygiene of handling plutonium, has changed, and our ability to detect plutonium in the environment has gotten a lot better," Willis said. Greg Mello, with the anti-nuclear nonprofit Los Alamos Study Group, called for Congress to kill the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program based on the CBO report. The Sentinel program is replacing Minuteman III missiles with Sentinel missiles, as well as upgrading missile silos and launch control centers. Los Alamos is building plutonium pits to be used in Sentinel missiles. The CBO report does not include all the cost growth that the Sentinel program is likely to experience, because the Department of Defense is restructuring the program after its cost increases triggered a review. "As CBO notes, there will be increased competition for defense dollars as nuclear weapons programs grow. The huge expenses tallied in this report were not anticipated at the outset of the nuclear modernization program," Mello said in a statement. "Since 2015, and with every report, estimated nuclear weapons costs have increased beyond prior predictions, from $348 billion in 2015 to $946 billion today. The opportunity costs are staggering." The cost for nuclear weapons could be even higher in the next CBO estimate, Willis said, because the latest report does not consider Trump administration priorities.
