Innovation and institutional change: the transition to a sustainable ...

88 Chapter 4
energy sources. Safeguarding and improving the reliability of the electricity
supply through a strong and secure grid also are traditional areas for research
and education at the technical universities. Education at the technical
universities in the seventies takes place in the tradition of basic principles of
fossil-fuelled generation, transmission and distribution along networks
varying from low to high voltages (Heydeman, 2000). The traditional power
plant and system can be divided in an electrotechnical part and mechanical
part, disciplines educated through faculties of electrical engineering and
mechanical engineering 12 .
Although up to 500 or 1000 MW was considered the minimum scale for a
nuclear reactor, the power generators decided to buy a smaller plant than
planned to gain experience, reduce costs and to be able to carry out research.
This made it possible to get new funding from Euratom. Although the Dutch
government intended to built-up a national nuclear industry 13 , the
Association of Energy Producers (SEP) did not see much in the perspective
of the involvement of Dutch industry in the construction of (parts of) the
reactor (Lagaaij and Verbong 1999; Verbong 2000). SEP concentrated its
nuclear research efforts in its research institute Kema and was not very
willing to share its nuclear expertise and did not consider Dutch industry
competent enough. Although the industry was invited to co-operate in the
building of the plant, Neratoom was not. In the making of the blueprints the
industry was hardly invited, so it could not get any experience in doing so. In
the construction of the two nuclear reactors foreign companies, General
Electric (GE) and Kraftwerk Union, were the main partners. Industry was
only involved in providing parts for the first Dodewaard reactor, but the
knowhow of GE was only available for SEP and KEMA, much at the
displeasure of Dutch government and industry. The plant, based on the
boiling water reactor technology, was built in 1968 in Dodewaard. A second
nuclear plant was also bought from a foreign company, and built in Borssele
in 1973. This plant was based on the pressurised water reactor technology.
12 Both the TU Eindhoven and Delft historically have strong educational centers with a focus
on the electricity system. At the TU Delft and TU Twente research and education on steam
turbines, reactors, and thermal engineering are important fields. Foci in education follow
those in energy research. Increasing scale of the electricity system also influenced
engineers’ minds. Installations needed to scale up, and higher efficiencies were required
(Boersma, 1998).
13 This also induced various industrial actors to form a consortium called Neratoom in 1959
for the joint development of expertise for the construction of nuclear reactors. Companies
involved were Philips, Stork, Werkspoor, RDM, de Schelde, Machinefabriek Breda,
NDSM, Wilton Feijenoord and Comprimo.