Toshiba has signed an agreement to acquire a 60% stake in the NuGeneration Limited’s (NuGen) Moorside project in West Cumbria, UK.
NuGeneration is a nuclear joint venture between GDF Suez and Iberdrola. As part of the agreement, Toshiba’s unit, Westinghouse Electric will supply three AP1000 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 3.4GW for Moorside site, which when fully operational, is expected to deliver approximately seven percent of the electricity requirements in the UK.
NuGen was previously owned by European companies, GDF Suez and Iberdrola. Westinghouse president and CEO Danny Roderick said “The agreement is another example of the strong commitment of Toshiba and Westinghouse to serve the global nuclear energy industry and enable countries and regions of the world to achieve their carbon-reduction goals.”
”We have a strong commitment to Europe and to providing the world’s most advanced technology, the AP1000 nuclear plant design, so customers can achieve cost-effective energy security and diversity while not damaging the environment with carbon and greenhouse gas-emitting sources in Europe,” Roderick added.
Westinghouse Nuclear Power Plants senior vice president Jeffrey Benjamin said, ”This project supports the U.K. government’s policy for new nuclear development – the timetable to operation, financial robustness, proven technology, and the project’s overall benefit to the U.K. Economy.”
The first unit is expected to be online in 2024, helping to support the UK government’s low carbon and energy security objectives at a time when current power plants are retiring and low-carbon generation is required to fulfill national and international commitments.
The fuel for the new AP1000 reactors is scheduled to be manufactured by Westinghouse Springfields, a UK-licensed fuel manufacturing facility near Preston in Northwest England.