- UK Announces Plans For Large-Scale Nuclear At Wylfa In North Wales
- Netherlands ‘Ready To Back Plans’ For 4 Large-Scale Nuclear Reactors
- Rolls Royce Get Nod for 470MW SMR in Poland
- Rolls-Royce Signs £15M Deal To Test Mini-Nuclear Reactors In Sheffield
- L&T To Buy Out NPCIL Stake In Its Forging Arm
- US Opens Manila HQ for Southeast Asia Civil Nuclear Working Group
UK Announces Plans For Large Nuclear At Wylfa In North Wales
- Ministers discussing who will build the station, which will join Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C as major future suppliers of clean energy
(NucNet) The UK government has earmarked Wylfa in north Wales as the site of a large-scale nuclear power station as it pushes ahead with ambitious plans for the biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years.
Wylfa on the island of Anglesey has been named as the preferred site for the UK’s third major nuclear power station in a generation, coming after EDF’s Hinkley Point C, which is under construction in Somerset, and its Sizewell C nuclear project planned for Suffolk. The government said that it is already in discussion with major energy companies interested in building a nuclear station at Wylfa.
Earlier this year the government set out plans to quadruple nuclear power generation to up to 24 GW by 2050, up from about 5.8 GW today.
South Korea’s state-owned nuclear developer has reportedly held early-stage discussions with government t officials about building a power station using its APR1400 reactor technology at Wylfa. US-based nuclear developer Westinghouse and the construction group Bechtel have also proposed building the facility, using Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor technology.
France’s state power company EDF said it was for the government to determine which nuclear reactor type is used at Wylfa but two more of its own EPR units would “be the surest choice” by “building on the skills and experience being developed at Hinkley Point and Sizewell.”
The government said in a statement it is kickstarting talks with global energy firms to explore building the new power station, which could provide enough power for six million homes for 60 years.
“It brings the UK closer to its target for a quarter of electricity to come from homegrown nuclear power by 2050 to strengthen the nation’s energy independence,” the statement said.
Claire Coutinho, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said the government was “powering ahead with the biggest expansion of nuclear energy in 70 years”.
In 2020, Hitachi, which owned the site until it was bought by Great British Nuclear (GBN), pulled out of a plan to build a nuclear station on the site. The Japanese company blamed a lack of funding from the UK government.
Note to Readers: The UK government offered generous funding for the original Wylfa project, but shot itself in the foot by insisting on a fixed price contract for the construction of two 1350 ABWRs at Wylfa and another two 1350 MW ABWRs at Oldbury. Despite strenuous pushback by Hitachi over this requirement, the government was unmoved and the Japanese packed up shop and went home.
GBN is the government body designed to drive the delivery of new nuclear energy projects in the UK, including a fleet of small modular reactors. The government appears to have learned its lesson because it is funding the cost increases for Hinkley Point C and is expected to do the same for the inevitable schedule delays and cost increases that will occur at Sizewell C.
GBN recently secured Wylfa and Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire as two possible sites for new nuclear projects. It was the first time the government acquired land for new nuclear since the 1960s. The decision on the nuclear developer, and what type of technology should be used at Wylfa, will be made by GBN.
Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the UK-based Nuclear Industry Association, said: “A large-scale project at Wylfa would be the single biggest inward investment in Welsh history, and a huge step towards both energy security and net zero for the whole country.”
Sue Ferns, the senior deputy general secretary of the Prospect trade union, one of the UK’s largest, said: “Gigawatt scale new nuclear power stations are vital to hitting net zero and for our energy security. But they also maintain well-paid and highly skilled jobs, meaning this project would be a major boost to the Welsh economy.”
“Now we need a laser-like focus on delivery of new nuclear to make sure skills and experience are not lost, and costs are reduced as we progress,” Ferns said.
Wylfa is home to two gas-cooled Magnox plants that were permanently shut down in 2012 and 2015 and is seen as suitable site for large reactors or small modular reactors.
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Netherlands ‘Ready To Back Plans’ For Four Large-Scale Nuclear Power Stations
- Reports say administration will also triple funds available for new reactors
(NucNet) The incoming Dutch government will back plans for the construction of four new large-scale nuclear power reactors in the Netherlands and will more than triple the government funds earmarked for the new build program from €4.5 billion to €14 billion ($4.9 to $15.2 billion), reports have said.
Silvio Erkens, a member of the center-right VVD that will be part of the new government, said a tender is already being planned by the caretaker government to choose the technology for the first two large nuclear plants.
The incoming coalition government has an agreement to expand on nuclear new build plans out in place by the outgoing government, which is ruling in a caretaker capacity.
The coalition agreement “triples the funding available to set up the required public-private partnership to invest in newbuild plants [in] the upcoming years”, said Erkens.
In December 2022 the Dutch government chose the existing Borssele nuclear power station site as its preferred location for the proposed construction of two new nuclear units.
The government said the units should be deployed by 2035, each have a capacity of between 1,000 MW and 1,650 MW, and use Generation III+ reactor technology.
Energy minister Rob Jetten said in June last year that the Netherlands was talking to “three potential and interested suppliers” to build two new nuclear power plants, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
Reports in the Netherlands said the three were US-based Westinghouse, the French state-owned company EDF and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. There was no mention of two other major nuclear plant suppliers – Russia’s state corporation Rosatom and China’s state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation.
Earlier this year Westinghouse said it had signed a contract with the Dutch government to conduct a technical feasibility study assessing the deployment of AP1000 reactors in support of the Netherlands’ nuclear new-build strategy.
Borssele, in the province of Zeeland in the southwest of the Netherlands, is the country’s only commercial nuclear power station. It has a single 482-MW pressurized water reactor unit that began commercial operation in 1973. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, in 2022 it provided a 3.3% share of the country’s electricity production.
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Rolls Royce Get Nod for 470MW SMR in Poland
Industria, a Polish government state owned enterprise, has submitted a request to the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment for a decision in principle to build a new nuclear power plant. The plant, which will use Rolls-Royce SMR technology, which will have a capacity of 470 MWe. It is designed around a small pressurized water reactor, with a spent fuel storage site integrated into the plant.
The project took a crucial step forward last week when Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska issued a positive decision. It asserts that the investment was in line with national energy and climate objectives. This decision, supported by the head of the Homeland Security Agency and the Minister of State Assets, marks the State’s official approval of the planned investment, which is consistent with the assumptions and concept presented by Industria. It is also the first decision in the administrative licensing process for nuclear power plant investments in Poland, paving the way for other necessary administrative steps.
Alan Woods, Strategy Director at Rolls-Royce SMR, said, “Today’s decision in principle by Poland’s Minister of the Environment is extremely positive news and allows us to advance our commercial and technical discussions on the deployment of Rolls-Royce SMR nuclear power plants in Poland.”
Separately, there are numerous development efforts underway in Poland to build full size nuclear power plants as well as small modular reactors. Westinghouse has an agreement in principle to build several AP1000s in Poland with a combination of government and investor funding. In the private sector GE Hitachi is engaged to build multiple BWRX300 SMRs for a chemical manufacturing firm.
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Rolls-Royce Signs £15M Deal To Test Mini-Nuclear Reactors In Sheffield
Rolls-Royce has signed a £15m deal with Sheffield University to begin a trial period of developing manufacturing techniques for small modular reactors (SMRs). The goal is to develop efficient and repeatable processes that will let the company produce reactor components in large numbers.
The investment was welcomed by Claire Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, who said, “SMRs will be assembled from hundreds of factory-made modules, which will be transported to sites and then put together “like Lego bricks”.
The initial phase of the project will take place at Sheffield University deal which will see Rolls spend £2.7 million on producing three prototype modules by the end of this year. If that work is successful, the company will spend more than £15 million making prototypes of each of the 15 types of modules that will be needed throughout a finished SMR.
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L&T To Buy Out NPCIL Stake In Its Forging Arm
After years of delays, the Indian government will likely soon give the go-ahead to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) to sell its 26% stake in L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings (LTSSHF) to the majority partner, L&T. NPCIL is a state owned enterprise.
LTSSHF was commissioned in 2012 with the aim to secure the supply chain of critical forgings for India’s nuclear program along with development work for the new generation reactors being built.
An L&T spokesperson said in a media statement, “There are very few such big forging firms in the world. Buying out NPCI will free L&T to invest more and to chart a course of its own to make the firm a key supply chain partner in nuclear and other sectors.”
LTSSHF is a state-of-the-art 65,000 sq meter integrated facility at Hazira in Gujarat for the manufacturing of heavy forgings, with one of the biggest Electric Arc melting furnaces of 125 tons and the largest hydraulic press in India (capacity of 9,000 tons). It’s one of its kind in South-East Asia, owing to the fact that all operations are under one roof.
The Indian government is currently building a fleet of 700 MW PHWRs which will be solely provisioned by domestic firms in terms of components and systems, both nuclear and non-nuclear.
L&T has provided turbines and nuclear components to the Russian build VVERs at Kudankulam. At that site two 1000MW units have been commissioned, two more are well on their way to completion, and a third pair have started construction.
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US Opens Manila HQ for Southeast Asia Civil Nuclear Working Group
The Us has chosen Manila as its Southeast Asian headquarters for the US Civil Nuclear Industry Working Group, State Department Assistant Secretary for Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink announced last week,
On the sidelines of the 6th Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF), Kritenbrink said establishing the Civil Nuclear Industry Working Group in the Philippines will deepen the commercial engagement of stakeholders between the US and Southeast Asia.
“This industry-led group will connect Philippine partners with US companies, provide world-class technology solutions and best practices to accelerate Philippines’ transition to clean and safe nuclear energy.”
Kritenbrink added this initiative underscores the deep commitment of the US government to support the Philippines’ long-term energy needs and environmental laws while maintaining secured and safe use of civil nuclear energy.
The Philippines and the US also signed two new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to advance the governments’ civil nuclear partnership built on the 123 Agreement. The Philippines and the US signed the 123 Agreement in November 2023 allowing the Philippines to import and use nuclear technologies originating from the US for “peaceful use.”
Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael Lotilla signed the MOU with US Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn to develop and implement a comprehensive civil nuclear energy policy in the Philippines.
The US and the Philippines will host the first-ever nuclear energy suppliers’ forum in Manila in November this year to bring together US experts, private sector leaders, and Philippine energy stakeholders to solidify civil nuclear cooperation between Manila and Washington D.C.
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