2021 Report details for project: Geological Disposal Facility Programme (GDF)

Project name Geological Disposal Facility Programme (GDF) - there are 11 reports for this project: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
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Organisation BEIS (D1198) - see all reports for this organisation
Report year 2021 (data is from March 2021)
Category Infrastructure - see all reports for this category
Description: The primary objective of the programme is to site and construct a permanent geological disposal facility (GDF) as the safe, secure and environmentally responsible solution to the long-term management of higher-activity radioactive waste in the UK, excluding Scotland. The programme also supports the delivery of the UK's nuclear new build programme because before development consents for new nuclear power stations are granted, the Government needs to be satisfied that effective arrangements exist or will exist to manage and dispose of the wastes they will produce.
DCA (RAG) Green
DCA text: Compared to financial year 19/20-Q2, the Infrastructure Project Authority's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating decreased from Amber to Green. This is primarily due to the following factors: The programme delivery confidence has moved to green in the period due to the progress in engaging volunteer communities; two working groups have been formed and additional interested parties are being actively engaged. The transformation of the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme organisation continues with ongoing recruitment to meet the delivery needs however, there is still work to do on the detailed transformation planning considering the future changes at RWM to enact plans for the NDA's Single Waste Division. It should be noted that the GDF programme spans a significant time period on a whole life basis and the programme is still at a very early stage in the lifecycle, construction is due to start in the 2040s. The programme still faces exceptional uncertainty levels at this stage, with success dependent on agreeing a site within a willing community and the associated geological uncertainties this presents.
Start date 2008-06-30
End date 2040-12-31
Schedule text Compared to financial year 19/20-Q2, the project's end-date remained scheduled to finish on 31 December 2040 This is primarily due to the following factors: Significant progress has been made over the past year and work continues to drive the schedule and mitigate risks to meet the delivery milestone dates. The first two working groups have been established enabling discussions to begin with potential host communities and pioneering research is underway to underpin delivery of the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) including the testing of a new approach to the sealing of deep boreholes. The organisational transformation continues to enhance capability as the programme moves from research to delivery leading to enhanced planning for the GDF and additional engagement with regulators building confidence and maintaining a constructive dialogue. The programme also continues to progress risk mitigation activities and work has been launched to support the bring forward of seismic surveys in support of site evaluation, a key step in the overall GDF site selection process.
Baseline £48.47m
Forecast £33.60m
Variance -31.00%
Variance text: The budget variance exceeds 5%. The main variances and reduced in year spend are due to two main reasons: 1) There were delays to the initial launch of the siting process resulting in a fewer number of assumed / forecast working groups and the associated costs in this FYr. This position has started to improve as there are now two working groups in place. The difficulties associated with CoVID have reduced the planned stakeholder engagement and communication activities with an associated reduction in cost. 2) There have been delays in the technical work and associated spend; commencement of site evaluation works due to the delays in working group formation and search area agreement.
Whole Life Cost £12,743.00m
WLCost text: Compared to financial year 19/20-Q2, the projects Baseline Whole Life Cost remained at £12743.00m. This is primarily due to the following factors: The costs presented are only currently the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) net costs for the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme - the information on Whole Life Costs (WLC) is derived from figures used in NDA's 2018 Annual Report and Accounts (ARAC) scenario GDF cost estimate (in Sept 2018 money values). Note that the costs reported here only cover NDA costs related to a GDF for legacy waste and waste arising from the existing fleet of nuclear reactors, it does not include any provision for waste disposal from a new nuclear build programme, as this will be funded by new nuclear operators. In line with other Government programmes at an early stage of development, the WLC estimate does not include any allowance for risk, uncertainty or optimism bias. The estimate is being reviewed alongside the wider update of the programme business case which will be available in due course.
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Sourcefile IPA_2021.csv

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Acknowledgement: GMPP data has been re-used under the Open Government Licence.