THE newly-appointed Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is due in Cumbria next week.

Greg Clark is expected to speak at the first 'Cumbria Nuclear Conference' in Carlisle.

The sold-out event on Wednesday and Thursday has attracted movers and shakers from across the sector and highlights the opportunities – and challenges – to Cumbrian businesses arising from nuclear new build at Sellafield.

The other 19 confirmed speakers include NuGen chief executive Tom Samson, the former Defence Secretary and Barrow MP Lord Hutton, and John Clarke, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson has organised the event.

He said: "We are a nuclear county. We have nuclear defence, nuclear waste and we have the prospect for nuclear power generation.

“Traditionally conferences like these have been held outside the county and this was an opportunity to hold our first Cumbrian nuclear conference.

“It’s moving away from places like London and Manchester and helping people recognise the opportunities we have here and help us recognise it as well.

"Nuclear is a big opportunity for Cumbria – that much is widely recognised.

“But how we do maximise the benefits for the county? That's what the conference will address.

"We need to raise awareness of the opportunities.”

Decommissioning at Sellafield has brought a steady stream of work for local businesses and Mr Stevenson believes that NuGen's plans to build the UK's biggest nuclear power station at Moorside, Sellafield, will allow many more firms to bid for and win contracts.

NuGen – a partnership between Toshiba of Japan and the French energy company ENGIE – has plans to build three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. These would have a combined output of 3.6GW – enough to power 6m homes and supply 7.5 per cent of the UK's electricity needs.

NuGen is due to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the Moorisde project in 2018 and had hoped to start construction two years later and have the first reactor on stream by 2025.

Mr Stevenson added: "We want to encourage people to think about the real opportunities that exist and the new opportunities that are coming our way.

“We have a huge amount of investment coming to the county which is of national significance, as well as huge local significance.”

The conference will open with a dinner at the Halston Aparthotel on the Wednesday night, attended by 300 people, followed by the main event at Carlisle Racecourse the next day.

In addition to the speakers, break-out sessions will cover the skills agenda, professional services and supply-chain issues.

The international project management and technical consultancy WYG is sponsoring the conference.