RE:GE Hitachi and Aecon make way in the UK - The Times Likely to start with 5 units or 50B pounds (90B CAD).
it looking for 20 units at 10B pounds each or 200B pounds total (361B CAD).
“Being able to deploy six gigawatts, maybe 20 units in the UK, is aggressive but reasonable for us,” said Nicole Holmes, the executive leading the negotiations between the North Carolina company and Great British Nuclear, an arm’s-length, state-backed body that is leading the selection process.
However, Great British Nuclear has asked the four providers on the shortlist — the others are Rolls-Royce, Holtec and Westinghouse — to set out the cost of providing 1,500MW of nuclear capacity, to demonstrate the economies of scale they can deliver from building more units. For GE Hitachi, that would equate to roughly five mini-nuclear plants.
A “double-digit” percentage reduction in the cost of manufacturing the fifth unit compared with the first would be possible, Holmes said. “Each unit that you progress, as your skilled labour becomes more experienced, as your supply chain sees that volume signal, will benefit.”
The previous government said that the cost of building the first two units would be about £20 billion, but the figure is due to be updated in the chancellor’s spending review next year.