Secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), Greg Clark, was accused of having “thrown under a bus” the people of Cumbria after plans to build a new nuclear power station collapsed. Independent MP John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) took aim at the business secretary given that the £15 billion project at the Moorside site was due to create more than 20,000 jobs. The project collapsed after Toshiba said it was pulling out of it. Mr Clark, replying to an urgent question, said Toshiba board members confirmed their decision was a “commercial one” before telling MPs: “The Moorside site in West Cumbria is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the land will revert back to the NDA. “It remains a potential site for nuclear new-build and the NDA will consider a range of options for its future.” Mr Woodcock replied: “And so the people of Cumbria are thrown under a bus.”
Energy Voice 13th Nov 2018 read more »
John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, has today demanded a government response to the collapse of a deal which would have led to the construction of a new nuclear power station in his Cumbria constituency. His urgent question follows an announcement by Japanese firm Toshiba, that they would be liquidating their UK energy arm, NuGen, having failed to find a buyer for the Moorside project. Part of a wider move to offload less secure assets, a year-long negotiation with Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) fell through last week.
Parliament 12th Nov 2018 read more »
Government “dithering” harming chances of investment, nuclear experts say. Nuclear industry leaders have slammed the government following the decision by engineering giant Toshiba to pull out of a £15bn project to develop a new nuclear power station in Cumbria. In what has been labelled as a “crushing blow” to hopes of a revival of the UK nuclear energy industry, the Japanese firm has failed to find a buyer for the NuGeneration consortium behind the planned Moorside plant in West Cumbria with the plant expected to have delivered 7% of the UK’s electricity needs from 2025. The announcement last week came after 18 months of negotiations with prospective buyers. Korea Electric Power Corporation had been earmarked as the preferred bidder to takeover but no deal has reached. The firm say it will start the wind-up process in January. Craig Hatch, managing director, Surveying & Asset Management at WYG, has over 35 years’ experience working in the public and private sectors and on complex nuclear and renewable energy projects. He believes a lack of clear governmental action could have prevented the pull-out from occurring and the Cumbrian region will now be massively impacted.
ACE net 12th Nov 2018 read more »