Guest:  Paul Turner, chief executive, Institute of Commissioning & Assurance.
Interviewed by: Antony Oliver

In this episode we revisit the subject of project commissioning - a vital, often underestimated stage of infrastructure delivery.

What is commissioning – well in a nutshell it’s the complex process of preparing an asset to operate exactly as intended from day one.

So to be clear, it's not testing!

In its first report published today (Monday 11 August), the taskforce says a “radical reset” is needed to speed up vital nuclear projects and encourage more companies to build in Britain, delivering a new golden age of nuclear with thousands of good jobs and investment - supporting government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.  

People living near pylons to get £2,500 off electricity bills over 10 years, as smart meter plans are unveiled to give consumers better rights and compensation.

Electricity bills to be cut for thousands living near new pylons, as the government moves forward with plans to get Britain building and put communities at the heart of a cleaner, more affordable, homegrown energy system.  

A historic reactor complex has been demolished, creating a new skyline at Harwell site - the birthplace of pioneering nuclear research and innovation.

The complex originally housed the UK’s first fast fission reactor Zephyr, followed by Dimple - a multi-purpose, zero power, water moderated reactor. These played a central role in providing the data measurements used to support the first generation of nuclear reactor designs.  In its latter years, the building hosted research into prosthetic limbs and vehicle emissions under AEA Technology. 

More good jobs unlocked for workers across North Wales and North West England as Britain’s carbon capture industry goes from strength to strength.

This will support a total of 2,800 direct, skilled jobs in total – such as engineers and construction workers – and unlock growth and investment right across the HyNet network, which spans Cheshire and Flintshire.  

Around 200 oil and gas workers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will be offered tailored support to seize clean energy job opportunities.

The Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund, backed by £900,000 of UK Government funding, will help build the pipeline of skilled workers needed to make Britain a clean energy superpower as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

Guest: Mike Pigott, Director of Waste Operations and Sites at Nuclear Waste Services
Interviewed by: Antony Oliver

In this episode we’re focusing on the management of nuclear waste; one of the most complex, long-term, and often misunderstood aspects of the UK’s energy future.

HS2 is joining forces with rail industry representatives to take part in what is believed to be ‘The Greatest Gathering’ of historic and modern trains and rail-related exhibits. The event will take place at Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane Works, which will open its doors to the general public for the first time in almost 50 years.

As part of the rail exhibition, focused on the future, visitors will be given the opportunity to book an exclusive tour of a life-size model carriage, which has been fitted out to illustrate the concept design for HS2’s Class 895 train.

Costain, the infrastructure solutions company, as part of the Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA), will deliver hundreds of kilometres of new pipeline for Anglian Water.

SPA, comprising leading partners Costain, Farrans, Jacobs, and Mott MacDonald Bentley, will deliver an additional 260km of new, interconnecting pipelines by 2030 as part of Anglian Water’s commitment to securing the East of England’s water supply.

Mark McDonald, Stakeholder Lead of Green Volt project shares his experience of being aboard the Ramform Vanguard vessel being mobilised for the Green Volt’s geophysical survey.

The nuclear industry marked three significant anniversaries this week as His Majesty The King met with members of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group in Caithness Scotland, during his annual visit to the region.

The visit recognised the NDA group’s progress in its national mission to safely decommission the UK’s earliest nuclear sites, and its long-standing contribution to sustainability and economic development in the region and across the UK.

HS2 lifts Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) ‘Emily’ from below ground at the Green Park Way site in Greenford, West London

On Saturday 26th July, the team working on the HS2 project lifted the TBM's 9.11metre diameter cutterhead, front and middle shield, weighing 880 tonnes, using a large gantry crane. The tunnelling machine concluded its 3.4-mile journey from Victoria Road in Ealing in June, arriving in an underground reception chamber. TBM Emily excavated 775,000 tonnes of London Clay and installed 17,514 concrete tunnel segments.