NuGen signs Treasury deal for Moorfield funding

THE multi-billion new nuclear project at Moorside, West Cumbria, has taken a fresh leap forward after operator NuGeneration signed an agreement with the government to promote financing.

The deal establishes a process to enable access to the UK Guarantee Scheme, which was introduced in 2012 to accelerate investments in major infrastructure projects.

NuGen and HM Treasury will work together to see how the scheme can support arrangement of external project finance for Moorside, set to be the UK’s and Europe’s largest new nuclear power station project.

Chancellor George Osborne, said: “We’re happy to have signed this agreement with NuGen. Investment in a new generation of civil nuclear power is part of our long term economic plan to provide Britain with the energy it needs for decades to come.

“We’ve already done a lot to support new investment through our changes to the planning regime, the Generic Design Approval process and reforms to the electricity market. The Guarantee Scheme is another way in which we can help companies to make the huge investment that building new nuclear power involves.”

Sandy Rupprecht, chief executive of NuGen added:  “The signing of this co-operation agreement with HM Treasury is another demonstration of NuGen’s forward momentum as we power forward with our Moorside project in West Cumbria.”

NuGen, supported by its parent companies, Toshiba and GDF SUEZ, is taking forward the project, which will see three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors built on land to the north and west of the Sellafield complex in West Cumbria.

The first reactor is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2024 – with all three providing 3.4 GW of power – enough to power up to six million homes by the end of 2026.

The development will be the largest new nuclear development in Europe – and the biggest nuclear output from a single UK power station.