The government of the United Kingdom has committed to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and replacing its aging fleet of commercial nuclear power plants with newer plants of safer, modern designs. Nuclear power provides safe, reliable electricity with no greenhouse gas emissions during plant operations.
Horizon Nuclear Power chose a Bechtel-affiliated joint venture to conduct front-end engineering and design development for a greenfield commercial nuclear power station on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales.
In 2015, Bechtel joined forces with Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe and Japan Gas Corporation to form the joint venture, called Menter Newydd (“new venture” in Welsh). Bechtel responsibilities included overall project management; cost and schedule development; engineering of balance of plant facilities; and planning of the construction phase.
The joint venture completed more than 1,100 deliverables and an optimization study that identified significant cost savings. Later, as the sole Project Management Contractor, Bechtel was responsible for supply chain development, further estimating, safety and quality, and project controls.
Using the Hitachi ABWR reactor technology, the two-reactor plant was planned to provide low-carbon electricity to 5 million homes and businesses. The project was suspended in January of 2019 when Horizon Nuclear and the government of the UK could not agree on project funding.
