11 Jun (NucNet): The UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has put land at the Sellafield nuclear site in northwest England up for sale, possibly paving the way for a new nuclear reactor at the site.
Up to 250 hectares of land is set to be auctioned off by the end of the year to a buyer that can offer “value for money” for the UK taxpayer. The NDA said it expects to conclude the sale process this year.
The auction represents the second round of sales of potential nuclear sites by the NDA, which in April sold land from three of its sites to energy companies.
Wylfa in Anglesey and Oldbury in Gloucestershire were both bought by a consortium of RWE Npower and E.ON UK, while Bradwell in Essex was acquired by French nuclear giant EDF Energy.
Sellafield is one of 11 sites listed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change as a potential location for a new nuclear power plant.
Sellafield has been the site of nuclear weapons programmes and nuclear generation plants since 1947.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
UK Names Potential Sites For New Nuclear Units (News in Brief No. 43, 15 April 2009)
French And German Groups Win UK Nuclear Land Auction (News No. 38, 30 April 2009)
