As geomorphological advisor to EDF Energy, Moffatt & Nichol provides guidance relating to beach management at the Sizewell B and Dungeness B nuclear power stations—two of the stations with some of the most dynamic shores among EDF’s power station assets.
Moffatt & Nichol team members have supported EDF since 2012 and have served as geomorphological advisors to the Dungeness and Sizewell coastal management steering groups, since 2014 and 2019, respectively. Throughout this time, the team’s advisory services have also provided support on questions of broader coastal management and coastal engineering.
At Dungeness, shingle recycling operations are undertaken annually, for which Moffatt & Nichol provides an assessment of the quantity of material that can be recycled within the parameters of the current planning permission, which is contained within an annual management report.
This long-term and deep involvement in the coastal management of both sites has allowed the team to extend its expertise in several areas, including understanding coastal change impacts on sea defence performance, communicating effectively with steering groups and stakeholders, guiding stake holder response, and supporting owner engagement with regulators and external stakeholders.
In addition to being highly regulated, these are extremely sensitive sites that attract much attention from the public and other organisations. Maintaining effective and positive communication with external parties is very important. The team’s contributions have had many positive outcomes, including strengthening regulator relationships, achieving better client understanding of coastal processes, and developing long-term options. In addition, significant improvements have been made in beach management, monitoring data efficiency, residual uncertainty management, and sea defence condition.
