Toshiba invests £200m at Sellafield

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has agreed terms with Toshiba and its partners to extend a land option agreement that reaffirms the consortium’s commitment to build three reactors at Moorside, a government statement has confirmed.

The reactors, which will deliver a combined power of 3.4GW, are set to come online by 2024 and will have enough capacity to power up to six million homes.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Today we can announce the huge investment being made by Toshiba and Westinghouse – over £200 million – into the rebuilding of the British nuclear industry, specifically in the North West of our country, in a project that could provide as many as 14,000 jobs during the construction phase, and many thousands of jobs ongoing, as well as providing low-carbon, base load electricity for Britain.”

In December, Process Engineering reported that Westinghouse - Toshiba’s US-based nuclear reactor firm - was entering the Cumbrian project after its parent company acquired Iberdola’s 50% stake in project company NuGen for £85 million.

NDA chief executive officer John Clarke said: “Together with our nuclear partners we are seeing the emergence of West Cumbria as a centre of nuclear excellence across the whole span of the industry from new build to decommissioning and waste management.”