EDF plans a new 3.2 GW EPR nuclear project in Cumbria (UK)

Fifteen companies including EDF, engineering companies and trade unions, have proposed to build an energy hub at Cumbria in northwest England (United Kingdom). The Moorside Clean Energy Hub would include a new 3.2 GW UK EPR plant. It could accomodate other nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs), linked with other energy technologies such as renewable power generation, hydrogen production and energy storage.

NuGen, a joint venture of Toshiba (60%) and Engie (40%), was set up in 2010 for the development of a 3.8 GW nuclear power plant on the Moorside site, which should have featured three Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors of 1,200 MW each. However, Toshiba's subsidiary Westinghouse, which was supposed to supply three AP1000 nuclear reactors, filed for bankruptcy in March 2017, threatening the entire project. Consequently, Engie withdrew from the project and sold its 40% stake in the project company NuGen to its partner Toshiba, which became the sole owner of NuGen. In November 2018, Toshiba scrapped the project, which was believed to be uneconomic and in a tremendous situation after Toshiba failed to find a partner.

In June 2020, the UK Planning Inspectorate accepted the Sizewell C nuclear power plant planning application for examination. The 3,340 MW Sizewell C project is developed by EDF (80%) and its Chinese partner China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN, 20%) and would consist of two EPR reactors. The Sizewell C project would be almost identical to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant that is being constructed by EDF and CGN in Somerset (United Kingdom) and is expected to be commissioned in 2025. EDF expects 20% in capital cost saving for Sizewell C if it manages to reuse the Hinkley Point C experience. The planning application revaluated costs of the project by 11-18%, from £17-18bn (€19-20bn) to £20bn (€22bn).