Wylfa Newydd new-build project scrappedNuclear NewsPower & OperationsFebruary 1, 2021, 7:00AM|Nuclear News StaffThe 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subsidiary that remained involved in the project following its parent company’s pullout in September 2020, has formally withdrawn its application for a development consent order (DCO) regarding the proposed nuclear plant.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.The announcement: In a January 27 letter to the Planning Inspectorate, Horizon wrote that negotiations on the future of the project “have not, unfortunately, led to any definitive proposal that would have allowed the transfer to some new development entity. In light of this, and in the absence of a new funding policy from HM Government, Hitachi Ltd. has taken the decision to wind-up Horizon as an active development entity by 31 March 2021. As a result, we must now, regretfully, withdraw the application.”Despite Horizon’s decision to close the project, Hawthorne noted in a statement that “nuclear power has a critical role to play in helping tackle our energy needs, meeting our climate change targets, and leveling up the economy through green growth and job creation. Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey and Oldbury on Severn [Horizon was also considering land near Oldbury in South Gloucestershire as a site for a new nuclear plant] are highly desirable sites for new nuclear build.”Reaction: Horizon’s announcement drew this response from the U.K. government: “We offered a significant package of potential support to this project that went well beyond what any government has been willing to consider in the past, including taking a one-third equity stake, providing all required debt financing, and offering generous financial support through our contract for difference scheme. We understand that this will be disappointing news for the people of north Wales. However, Wylfa remains an important site for potential new projects, and the U.K. government will continue to explore future opportunities for it.”Local government also expressed disappointment, with Anglesey council leader Llinos Medi terming the news a “real blow” to the island’s future. “We simply cannot let these long years of effort and hard work be for nothing; our young people and communities expect and deserve far better opportunities," she said.Where there’s a Wylfa: One possible future for nuclear power at the Wylfa site came into view on January 15, when British firm Shearwater Energy announced that it is teaming with U.S.-based NuScale Power to develop a hybrid project at Wylfa that would use wind energy and small modular reactor technology to produce power and green hydrogen.Tags:duncan hawthornehitachihorizon nuclear powernuscale powershearwater energywylfa newyddShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Bulgaria to evaluate NuScale SMRs for KozloduyBulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear plantPortland, Ore.–based NuScale Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant–New Build Plc (KNPP-NB) to discuss the possible deployment of NuScale’s small modular reactor technology at Bulgaria’s Kozloduy site. KNPP-NB was established in 2012 to commission new nuclear power capacity at Kozloduy.Specifics: Under the MOU, NuScale will support KNPP-NB as it analyzes the suitability of NuScale’s SMRs for Kozloduy, located in northwest Bulgaria. The analysis will include the development of a project time line “with milestone deliverables for a feasibility study” and a project-specific cost estimate, as well as engineering, planning, licensing, and other activities, according to a February 17 NuScale press release.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
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
Decision on Welsh nuclear project delayed againArtist's concept of the Wylfa Newydd project. Image: Horizon Nuclear PowerThe U.K. government has agreed to delay until April 30 its decision regarding the issuance of a development consent order (DCO) for, the nuclear new-build project proposed for the island of Anglesey, off the northwest coast of Wales. (DCOs are required for large infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom to move forward.)Go to Article
U.S. companies said to be in talks with U.K. on Welsh nuclear projectArtist's concept of the Wylfa Newydd project. Image: Horizon Nuclear PowerThe London-based newspaper Financial Times is reporting that a consortium of U.S. firms is holding discussions with the U.K. government to revive Wylfa Newydd, the nuclear new-build project in Wales from which Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. withdrew in September. According to the November 10 FT story—which is based on an anonymous source—the consortium is led by Bechtel and includes Southern Company and Westinghouse.Go to Article
Deadline for proposed Welsh plant extended; third-party interest expressedArtist's concept of the Wylfa Newydd project. Image: Horizon Nuclear PowerHopes for the construction of a two-unit nuclear power station in Wales—dashed some three weeks ago when Hitachi Ltd. officially announced its withdrawal from the proposed Wylfa Newydd plant—rose again slightly last week when the United Kingdom’s Planning Inspectorate agreed to delay its decision regarding issuance of a development consent order (DCO) for the project.The original deadline for the decision had been September 30, but following the receipt of a pair of letters from Horizon Nuclear Power—the Hitachi subsidiary in charge of the project—the inspectorate consented to a December 31 extension.Go to Article
Hitachi pulls plug on Wales nuclear build projectArtist'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.Go to Article
Restart of Wales nuclear project could be on horizonHorizon Nuclear Power is in talks with the U.K. government to revitalize plans to build the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant in northwestern Wales, the Financial Times reported last week. Go to Article
An Open Letter to The OregonianOn October 23, The Oregonian newspaper ran an op-ed by Leslie March of the Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign that questioned the independence of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Paul Lorenzini, co-founder of Oregon-based NuScale Power, submitted a rebuttal based on his many years of experience with regulators worldwide.Go to Article