The British power transmission grid operator National Grid has unveiled its plans to invest £2.8bn (€3.1bn) to connect the planned Moorside nuclear power project in Cumbria into electricity network. The company is proposing extensive measures to reduce the impact of the project on the landscape of Cumbria while balancing this with the need to keep energy bills affordable.
NuGen, the joint venture of Toshiba (60%) and Engie (40%), aims to build three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors with a combined capacity of 3,600 MW, which would serve six million customers and to meet 7% of the United Kingdom’s anticipated electricity needs. The final investment decision could be made by the end of 2018 and the first of the three AP1000 reactors is expected to enter into service by 2025.
National Grid is proposing to build a complete connection along a route going onshore north from Moorside to an existing substation at Harker near Carlisle; National Grid would also build a line from Moorside to Heysham in Lancashire (through the Furness peninsula and through a tunnel under Morecambe Bay). The company aims to submit an application for consent to build the new connection to the Planning Inspectorate in 2017. A decision will then be made by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. If consent is granted, construction work is expected to start in 2019. National Grid is currently contracted to provide NuGen with the first phase of the connection into its transmission network by 2024.
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