The United Kingdom’s government has selected Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales as the location for a set of Rolls-Royce small modular reactors (SMRs).
The Wylfa site, home to a nuclear power plant being decommissioned, is expected to host three Rolls-Royce SMRs. There is potential the site could add five more such units in the future, the Wales government said in a Nov. 13 press release.
The Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) will start work on the Wylfa site in 2026 and expects the SMRs to be supplying energy by the mid-2030s, according to the press release.
Additionally, the Wylfa project will deliver up to 1,500 megawatts and will bring economic benefit to Wales, which includes up to 3,000 jobs during peak construction, the government said.
“These first SMRs at Wylfa will lay the groundwork for a fleet-based approach to nuclear development, strengthening the UK’s energy independence and bringing long-term investment to the local economy,” Simon Bowen, GBE-N chair, said in the release.
Wylfa nuclear power station is home to two closed reactors. The two 490-megawatt nuclear reactors became operational in 1971 and shut down in December 2015. Its closure marked the end of Magnox reactors in the UK.
A Magnox reactor is a gas-cooled reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel, graphite as a moderator and carbon dioxide as a coolant.
In June, Rolls-Royce SMR was announced to be GBE-N’s preferred bidder to build the UK’s first small modular reactors. The decision is subject to final government approvals and contract signature, which is expected later this year, the UK government said.
Rolls-Royce SMR has developed a pressurized water reactor designed to produce 470 megawatts.
The UK government has funded its SMR program £2.5 billion (US $3.29 billion) to help attract private investment, strengthen the UK supply chain and reduce dependence on imported energy.