Contract to lay out new Wylfa plant

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Work to develop the design of Horizon Nuclear Power's proposed new plant at Wylfa in the UK is set to start.

The existing Wylfa site currently houses two Magnox reactors, one still operating but due to shut next year (Image: Magnox Sites)

Horizon, which was acquired by Hitachi of Japan in November 2012, plans to build between four and six Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWRs) in the UK at its sites at Wylfa on the island of Angelsey in north Wales and at Oldbury in Gloucestershire. The units would be the first commercial boiling water reactors in the country.

Hitachi-GE - 80% owned by Hitachi and 20% by GE - is the technology provider and delivery team leader for Horizon's new-build plans at Wylfa and Oldbury. It has now been contracted to perform front-end engineering and design work for the proposed Wylfa plant.

Horizon chief operating officer Alan Raymant commented, "This is a multi-million pound contract stretching over several years, and represents another major step forward in our project." He added, "It will support our site development work, allow us to assess the best construction timetable for Wylfa, feed into our public consultations and support the supply chain development strategy."

Horizon noted that site layout and design aspects of the project will be made available for public comment when it launches its first phase of public consultation on the project, expected to commence in 2014.

The company is planning on the basis of site works beginning around 2015, leading to the start of major on-site work in 2018 and first nuclear construction around 2019.

The generic design assessment (GDA) of Hitachi-GE's ABWR was officially began by UK nuclear regulators last month.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News