Hitachi Optimistic on U.K. Nuclear Plans after EDF's Project Approval

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Costs to build renewable energy sources have declined over the past few years in the U.K., which has spurred interest in the development of offshore windfarms and solar power facilities. But Hitachi Limited (Tokyo, Japan) is pressing on with its proposal to build four to five nuclear reactors in the U.K., encouraged in part by the U.K. government's recent approval of Electricite de France S.A.'s (EDF) plan to build two reactors in southwest England. Industrial Info is tracking more than $94 billion in active nuclear projects in the U.K.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Markets, Duncan Hawthorne, the chief executive officer of Horizon Nuclear Power Limited, a subsidiary of Hitachi, said that nuclear power still will be needed for periods of weak wind and solar activity. He also said that nuclear plants now can be built at a faster rate because designs have been simplified.

Hitachi is planning to build two reactors for the $21.32 billion Oldbury II station near Bristol, England, which is expected to have a capacity of up to 3,900 megawatts (MW), and two or three reactors for the $18.66 billion Wylfa Newydd station in Cemaes Bay, Wales, which is expected to have a capacity of up to 2,600 MW. The U.K.'s Office for Nuclear Regulation says it is looking at Hitachi's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor designs at the Wylfa facility and expects Horizon to apply for its license in the first quarter of 2017. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Oldbury and Wylfa power plants.

Hawthorne told Bloomberg that the government's decision on EDF did not affect the schedule for either of the nuclear plants, which involves finishing the first unit at Wylfa by 2025.

Last week, the U.K. government approved the building of its first new nuclear power station in a generation, commonly referred to as Hinkley Point C. The project's owner, EDF, had been campaigning for approval for more than a decade, and had to assure the government that it would not sell its controlling interest in the project before construction is complete, at least not without government approval. For more on the tussle between developers and regulators, see September 2, 2016, article - Nuclear Companies Pressure U.K. Government.

Industrial Info is tracking two other nuclear projects proposed for the U.K. by EDF: the $11.99 billion Bradwell station in Bradwell-on-Sea, England, and the $7.99 billion Sizewell C station in Leiston, England. If approved and built, the Bradwell station would generate 1,600 MW using a European Pressurized Water Reactor, and the Sizewell C would use the same kind of reactor to drive four steam turbine generators, each with a capacity of 400 MW, for an output of 1,600 MW. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Bradwell and Sizewell C projects.

EDF also is at work on life-extension projects for units 1 and 2 at the Dungeness B Power Station in Kent, England, with each project valued at $99.94 million. The company expects the extensions to keep the units going to 2028. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Unit 1 and Unit 2 projects.

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