Despite continued shake ups at Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, owner of Westinghouse Electric Company, the UK company NuGeneration said this week that it remained committed to the three-reactor project in northwest England known as the Moorside project, which is slated for West Cumbria.
Toshiba said Tuesday that its chairman Shigenori Shiga, will step down as chairman due to huge losses in the nuclear power division, citing larger losses than previously announced. Shiga will stay on as an executive, while stepping away from duties as chairman, according to an Associated Press report.
But NuGen announced the project that would deploy three Westinghouse-designed AP1000 reactors was still on. “NuGen acknowledges the announcement that Toshiba's review into the future of its nuclear power business outside Japan is complete and that it remains committed to developing NuGen's Moorside Project,” the company said.
NuGen is 60 percent owned by Toshiba and 40 percent by Engie of France. Its Chief Executive Officer Tom Samson confirmed the news.
Samson said the company had made “significant progress” on the project since 2014, when Toshiba purchased a majority share in NuGen. “The site has already been proven as suitable for three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors,” the World Nuclear Association quoted Samson as saying. The CEO went on to say that the project has met with an “overwhelmingly supportive” public and backing from the UK government.
“The UK government has is supportive of NuGen as a maturing and highly skilled nuclear organization, and has remained firmly committed to new nuclear – stating that nuclear has a crucial role to play in securing our future energy needs, especially as we look to move to a low-carbon society,” Samson said.
News from Japan was more troubling, as Toshiba has projected losses on the fiscal year ending March 31 after earlier projecting profits. According to Associated Press, Toshiba now predicts a net loss on the year of $3.43 billion. Previously, the company advised shareholders that it was expecting a net profit of about $2.25 billion.
Toshiba now expects to lose $6.3 billion in losses from its nuclear business related to Westinghouse's purchase of CB&I Stone and Webster, the nuclear construction division of Chicago Bridge & Iron.
From Japan, Toshiba said Tuesday there was no change in its financial approach to the Moorside project and that it would “consider participating in the Moorside project without taking on any risk from carrying out actual construction work.”
“As planned from the beginning, Toshiba will seek to sell shares to interested parties,” the company said.
A NuGen spokesperson confirmed that point. “It was always NuGen's plan to identify an independent contractor,” he said, adding, “there is a universe of financing options available to NuGen to progress the Moorside project and it remains our intentions to bring in shareholders to support this project.”