Hitachi pulls plug on Wales nuclear build projectNuclear NewsPower & OperationsSeptember 16, 2020, 3:00PM|Nuclear News StaffArtist's concept of the Wylfa Newydd project. Image: Horizon Nuclear PowerTokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. today announced that it is withdrawing from the currently suspended Wylfa Newydd nuclear-build project in northwestern Wales. The announcement dashes the hopes raised last month by reports that Horizon Nuclear Power, the Hitachi subsidiary in charge of the project, was in talks with the U.K. government regarding a possible resuscitation.Hitachi had put the project on hold some 20 months ago, and in today’s announcement the company cited the length of the suspension and the COVID-19 investment environment as factors in its decision.The project: Horizon Nuclear Power, formed in 2009 to develop new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom, was acquired by Hitachi in November 2012. The following year, Horizon announced plans to construct two advanced boiling water reactors next to the now-shuttered Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey, off the northwest coast of North Wales. The new plant would be called Wylfa Newydd—Welsh for “New Wylfa.”(The company had proposed a second site as well, near Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire, next to the former Magnox Oldbury nuclear power station.)In December 2017, U.K. regulators approved Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy’s ABWR design following the completion of the required generic design assessment. In 2018, Hitachi entered into negotiations with the British government regarding various options for governmental support of the Wylfa Newydd project, including the potential for equity and debt investments.In January last year, however, Hitachi announced that it was suspending the project after failing to reach a financing agreement with the government. In its announcement at the time, Hitachi said that it was “clear that further time is needed to develop a financial structure for the Horizon project and the conditions for building and operating the nuclear power stations.”What’s next: As a result of today’s decision by Hitachi, Horizon said that it will now take steps for the orderly closing down of all of its current development activities. The company added, however, that it will keep the lines of communication open with the government and other key stakeholders regarding future options at both Wylfa and Oldbury.What they’re saying: “I understand this announcement will be disappointing for our many supporters who had hoped to see our project through to completion,” said Duncan Hawthorne, Horizon’s chief executive officer.Hawthorne added that nuclear power has a critical role to play in helping tackle the U.K.’s energy needs, meeting climate change targets, and helping the economy through green growth and job creation. “Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey and Oldbury-on-Severn are highly desirable sites for new nuclear build,” he said “We will do our utmost to facilitate the prospects for development, which will bring the major local, national, and environmental benefits that nuclear can uniquely deliver as we push to transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.”Tags:abwrcovid-19hitachihorizon nuclear powerwylfa newyddShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
UN partners expand use of nuclear technology to combat diseaseThe IAEA headquarters. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have worked together to address the global challenges of food insecurity, climate change, animal/zoonotic diseases, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic over 57 years of partnership. On February 23, the directors general of both organizations signed a Revised Arrangement committing to upgrade their collaboration and increase the scope of their work.Go to Article
Wylfa Newydd new-build project scrappedThe loosely connected plug keeping the United Kingdom’s Wylfa Newydd nuclear new-build project alive has been officially pulled.Horizon Nuclear Power, the Hitachi subsidiary that remained involved in the project following its parent company’s pullout in September 2020, has formally withdrawn its application for a development consent order (DCO) regarding the proposed nuclear plant. (DCOs are required for large infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom to move forward.) The facility was to be sited adjacent to the decommissioned Wylfa reactors, on the island of Anglesey, off the northwest coast of Wales.A decision on the DCO application, under review by the U.K. Planning Inspectorate since 2018, was expected by April 30, after a series of successful requests for extensions from Duncan Hawthorne, Horizon’s chief executive officer, who had cited “discussions with third parties that have expressed an interest in progressing with the development” of Wylfa Newydd.Go to Article
Uranium conversion facility to reopenThe Metropolis Works plant. Photo: HoneywellHoneywell plans to resume production at its Metropolis Works uranium conversion facility in 2023 and will begin preparations for the restart this year, the company has announced. The plant is in Metropolis, Ill.Honeywell, based in Charlotte, N.C., said in a February 9 statement that it plans to hire 160 full-time employees, as well as contractors, by the end of 2022, adding, “We’re proud to bring these jobs back to the Metropolis community to meet the needs of our customers.”Idled in early 2018, the plant is the nation’s sole uranium conversion facility.Go to Article
Canada’s Darlington-1 ends record runA view of the Darlington-1 turbine hall. Unit 1 has set a new world record for continuous operation by a nuclear power reactor. Photo: OPGIn continuous operation since January 26, 2018, Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington-1 was taken off line last Friday for an inspection and maintenance outage after a record-setting run of 1,106 days, the Canadian utility has announced.On September 15 of last year, the unit set a new world record for a power reactor, with 963 days of continuous operation, breaking the previous mark of 962, set by a reactor at India’s Kaiga plant in December 2018, according to OPG.Dependable Darlington: “Unit 1’s record-setting run highlights the excellent work carried out by our dedicated nuclear professionals throughout the pandemic to ensure Ontarians and frontline workers battling COVID-19 can count on a steady supply of power 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Sean Granville, OPG’s chief operating officer. “It also highlights the effectiveness of our preventive maintenance programs and the overall reliability of our nuclear fleet.”Go to Article
Wales inks deal with Sizewell C groupThe outlook for new nuclear construction in Wales may have taken a bleak turn, but that hasn’t stopped the Welsh government from seeking other opportunities for its nuclear industry. On February 5, the government announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Sizewell C Consortium, an organization of nearly 200 businesses and trade unions from the United Kingdom's nuclear supply chain focused on ensuring that the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, England, actually gets built.The consortium includes the firms Atkins, Balfour Beatty Bailey, Cavendish Nuclear, Doosan Babcock, EDF, Laing O’Rourke, and Mott MacDonald, as well as the unions GMB, Unite, and Prospect.A big deal: According to the announcement, in the event that the Sizewell C project is approved, the MOU could potentially see an investment of up to £900 million (about $1.2 billion) in the Welsh nuclear supply chain and up to 4,700 jobs supported across Wales. The signatories also view the agreement as a way to help retain the Welsh nuclear skills base.Go to Article
Nearly 22,000 completed IAEA courses in nuclear securityThe IAEA's In Young Suh (center) demonstrates nuclear security e-learning modules to participants of the International Conference on Nuclear Security. Photo: C. Mitchell/U.S. Oak Ridge National LaboratoryAn International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear security e-learning program is celebrating its 10 years of existence by marking a milestone with nearly 22,000 course completions by nuclear operators, regulators, policy professionals, academics, and students from 170 countriesThe IAEA launched the first nuclear security e-learning course, "Use of Radiation Detection Instruments for Front Line Officers," in 2010. Since then, the agency has developed a suite of 17 nuclear security e-learning courses, which are available online at no cost.The courses include:Overview of nuclear security threats and risksPhysical protectionInsider threat and informationComputer securityOther areas of nuclear securityThe online courses combine self-paced e-learning with virtual and face-to-face classroom learning. They are frequently prerequisites to instructor-led and classroom-based nuclear security education, training, and capacity building activities, according to the IAEA.Go to Article
Delay, cost increase announced for U.K. nuclear projectPerspex screens and reduced seating capacity in the Hinkley Point canteens help protect the workforce during breaks, EDF Energy said. Photo: EDF EnergyThe unfortunate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nuclear new-build projects haven’t stopped with Vogtle: EDF Energy this morning reported that the expected startup date for Unit 1 at its Hinkley Point C site is being pushed from late 2025 to June 2026.In addition, the project’s completion costs are now estimated to be in the range of £22 billion to £23 billion (about $30.2 billion to $31.5 billion), some £500 million (about $686 million) more than the 2019 estimate, EDF said, adding the caveat that these revisions assume an ability to begin a return to normal site conditions by the second quarter of 2021.Go to Article
COVID-19 wake-up call: Doomsday Clock remains at 100 seconds to midnightBulletin members reveal the 2021 setting of the Doomsday Clock. Photo: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists/Thomas GaulkinCiting the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board kept the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight, remaining as near to midnight as it has ever been.“The mishandling of this grave global health crisis is a ‘wake-up call’ that governments, institutions, and a misled public remain unprepared to handle the even greater threats posed by nuclear war and climate change,” a press release from the Bulletin stated. The group also cited a lack of progress in 2020 in dealing with nuclear and climate perils as the reason for not moving the Doomsday Clock from its 2020 position.Go to Article
House committee spearheading “Scientific Solutions” tweetstorm todayThe U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is leading a one-day social media campaign today to highlight the importance of leading with science and scientific solutions as the committee works to provide support for science and the scientific community. The “tweetstorm” will run from noon to 5 p.m. (EST) and will involve a variety of science-related organizations, including the American Nuclear Society.Organizations are being asked to post messages on their social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) related to five categories:American leadership in STEMEnvironmental justiceCombating the climate crisisScientific integrityCOVID-19Three hashtags have been created for the campaign: #ScientificSolutions, #SolvingtheClimateCrisis, and #EnvironmentalJusticeforAll.Go to Article
Hitachi sunsets HorizonHitachi Ltd. plans to close Horizon Nuclear Power, its U.K. nuclear development subsidiary, early this spring, according to weekend news reports. Horizon is the firm behind Wylfa Newydd, the proposed nuclear new-build project in Wales.On January 10, citing a story that appeared earlier that day in The Times, Yahoo reported that Hitachi will close Horizon by March 31—a move, Yahoo said, that “could scupper a sale of the [Wylfa Newydd] site, which has attracted interest from bidders, including a U.S. consortium of Bechtel, Southern Company, and Westinghouse, and dent [the] U.K.’s clean energy goals.”However, a January 11 item on a Welsh online news service stated, “It is understood that if a sale of the site is not secured before Horizon shuts, the sale process will be continued by Hitachi.”Go to Article