Professional Engineering Magazine : Energy companies race to buy sites for nuclear rebirth

Return to:

Energy companies race to buy sites for nuclear rebirth

The race to build the first nuclear power station in the UK for almost 15 years is hotting up as energy companies buy up potential sites and conduct environmental assessments.

Energy firm E.On has bought farmland next to the Magnox power station in Oldbury, south Gloucestershire. The land is large enough to contain a 1600MW European pressurised water reactor (EPR).

The purchase comes after it was revealed the company had applied for a 1600MW connection to the national grid at the Oldbury site earlier this year.

E.On said: “We are looking at a number of potential sites. With a third of the UK’s power stations closing in the next 10-15 years we clearly have to plan for the future.”

The move comes as British Energy and EDF move forward with their own plans to build nuclear power stations despite a takeover bid.

French energy firm EDF recently acquired British Energy for £12.5 billion, although the takeover has to be approved by shareholders and the government before it is finalised.

Despite the elderly nature of British Energy’s advance gas cooled reactor (AGR) fleet, the takeover is considered by the industry as good value because it gives EDF ownership of the best potential sites to build power stations in Britain.

Earlier this month British Energy released four environmental scoping documents, the initial consultation work required before an environmental impact assessment can be done.

The assessment has to be conducted before a company can apply for a Section 36 permission to build a power station.

EDF said it intends to build twin EPR reactor plants at Hinkley Point, Somerset, and at Sizewell, Suffolk, with the first planned for completion in 2017 at Hinkley.

However, environmental scoping assessments have also been carried out by consultancy Royal Haskoning for Dungeness in Kent and Bradwell, Essex.

British Energy also continues to hold public consultations at both sites, with the eighth meeting at Bradwell being held this month.

IN SCOPE

The environmental scoping documents published by British Energy contain extra details about the extent of the work required for new nuclear power stations.

Each reactor will take between six and seven years to build and will need a construction workforce of more than 5,000 people at its peak. Marine terminals for the offloading of large components will also have to be built at most sites.

The documents reveal the plans to store waste at each of the sites. Currently, high-level waste and spent fuel from British Energy’s AGRs is sent to Sellafield, Cumbria for storage and treatment. However, this will not be the arrangement with the new reactors.

The documents say: “It is expected that intermediate-level waste and spent fuel would be temporarily accommodated on-site during the operational life of the power station[s], pending off-site disposal.”

www.profeng.com The home of Professional Engineering on the web

Professional Engineering

Related links and resources

Energy companies race to buy sites for nuclear rebirth

www.profeng.com The home of Professional Engineering on the web

Professional Engineering

Search our back issues

Related links and resources

Energy companies race to buy sites for nuclear rebirth