16 May (NucNet): Horizon Nuclear Power has signed “a major contract” with its reactor technology provider and primary contractor, Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd, setting the framework for design work to be undertaken for the proposed new nuclear build project at Wylfa in north Wales.
Horizon said the “multi-million pound” front-end engineering and design contract stretches over several years and will allow it to assess “the best construction timetable for Wylfa”, on the Isle of Anglesey.
The contract will also help with public consultations and support the company’s supply chain development strategy, Horizon chief operating officer Alan Raymant said in the statement. He said the contract puts in place commercial arrangements under which Horizon will develop site-specific design plans for the project.
Horizon plans to hold supplier events next week in Llandudno and Gloucester. Horizon recently invited expressions of interest in “a small number of procurement opportunities”, Mr Raymant said.
In January 2013 the UK government asked regulators to start the generic design assessment process for Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), which has been proposed for construction at sites in England and Wales, including Wylfa.
Hitachi owns two sites for potential new nuclear in the UK – one at Wylfa and the other at Oldbury in Gloucestershire – and says it plans to build two to three ABWR units at each.
In November 2012 Hitachi completed the acquisition of the UK’s Horizon nuclear project from German utilities RWE and E.ON.
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