Wylfa Newydd construction team appointed

A specially created joint venture has been appointed by Horizon Nuclear Power to build the company’s flagship Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station project.

The joint venture, Menter Newydd, which translates from Welsh as New Venture, consists of companies Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, Ltd., Bechtel Management Company, Ltd. and JGC Corporation (UK) Ltd, and will be responsible for delivering Wylfa Newydd.

Collectively, the JV have been involved in the construction of over 170 nuclear power stations in addition to a wide range of large infrastructure projects.

Located in Angelsey, the £14Bn project will see the JV act as a Tier 1 contractor, spending the coming months increasing its UK presence and looking to build supply chain relationships.

Operating under a FEED contract to Horizon for more than three years, Hitachi-GE will continue to provide the UK advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) technology, under sub-contract to Menter Newydd.

Hitachi’s Malcolm Twist, Project Director for Menter Newydd, said: “This is a very strong team. All the partners are proven at the highest level, and I’m delighted we’ve established the balance of expertise to safely deliver for Horizon, on-cost and on-schedule. We expect to begin firming up relationships with our main sub-contractors – many of them British – very soon.”

Duncan Hawthorne, Horizon CEO, said that the appointment was an “important step”. He commented: “The depth and breadth of expertise Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, Bechtel and JGC bring to the Menter Newydd venture will help us ensure the timely delivery of our project, which will be vital for meeting the UK’s energy gap and boosting the local economy in North Wales for decades to come. We look forward to working with the team and continuing to make great strides with our plans.”

The JV appointment follows Horizon recently completing a further stage of public consultation in North Wales and launching its apprenticeship scheme. The Company has also just appointed Duncan Hawthorne as its Chief Executive Officer.

The power station will be situated on land beside the existing operational Magnox nuclear power plant and is described by Horizon as “ideally situated for low carbon nuclear power production”. This is due to the infrastructure developed supporting the existing system; the locally based skilled nuclear workforce and its close proximity to seawater cooling facilities.

Development work on site is making progress and the UK ABWR remains on track to complete its regulatory Generic Design Assessment by the end of 2017.

It is envisaged that the first electricity generation will take place at Wylfa Newydd within the first half of the 2020s.

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