French Utility EDF has recruited Westinghouse, Jacobs Engineering and General Electric to support the preliminary life extension work at the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, United Kingdom, Westinghouse said Thursday.
EDF, which operates Sizewell B, is leading a Long-Term Operation (LTO) program aimed at extending the station’s operating lifespan by 20 years to 2055.
“Westinghouse brings the innovation, team, and tools that will improve Sizewell B’s performance and guarantee a safe and cost-effective operational extension,” said Tarik Choho, Westinghouse President, EMEA Operating Plant Services. “We are very proud to join Jacobs and General Electric on this key project to extend Sizewell B’s operational lifetime which, in turn, will support the UK’seconomic growth and job market."
"EDF is actively exploring a 20-year life extension opportunity to take output to 2055. A final investment decision is anticipated by 2024,” said the company's Chief Nuclear Officer Paul Morton.
The first phase of the program includes scoping and cost-benefit analysis before a final investment decision is made in 2024. EDF estimates the value of this phase at US$14 million to all participants.
Sizewell B is the UK’s only commercial pressurized water reactor and is the most modern and efficient plant in the UK’s civil nuclear fleet. The UK’s nuclear stations have generated more than 2,000 terawatt hours of zero-carbon electricity since 1976 – enough to power all the UK’s homes for more than 18 years – and their output has avoided the emission of 700 million tons of CO₂.