Bechtel, Hitachi and Japan Gas to build nuclear plant

Global engineering and construction company Bechtel has been selected, along with joint venture partners Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe and Japan Gas Corporation, to deliver a new, two-reactor nuclear power plant – Wylfa Newydd on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales – for plant owner Horizon Nuclear Power.

The joint venture will be called Menter Newydd, which means ‘new venture’ in Welsh. It will initially provide front-end engineering and construction planning prior to full construction, expected by 2020, according to Bechtel.

Construction will create 8,000 to 10,000 jobs at peak periods and the plant will employ around 850 permanent employees on the Isle of Anglesey, adjacent to the site of two older UK reactors scheduled for decommissioning, says Bechtel.

Bechtel has previously performed services on more than 150 nuclear power plants worldwide, says the company. Hitachi-GE will provide the Generation III+ Advanced Boiling Water Reactors to be used at the plant, and the Japan Gas Corporation has engineered and built refineries and power plants since 1928.

In 2015, Bechtel completed construction on Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear power project in the state of Tennessee, the first US reactor to received authorisation to operate this century. ‘Completing a nuclear power plant requires an incredibly complex and highly qualified supply chain and workforce,’ said Ty Troutman, General Manager of Bechtel's nuclear power business. ‘It takes daily cooperation between the site owner, the supply chain, the local community, and the specialist workforce. We are looking to repeat this success in the UK and keep nuclear power generation, jobs and skills in Anglesey for decades to come.’