| NucNet: UK's Wylfa Granted Extended Period Of Electricity Generation | | Print | |
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The UK's twin-unit Wylfa nuclear power plant has been given the go-ahead to continue generating electricity for at least nine months after its planned closure date of March 2010. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which owns the site, announced its approval today and said the north Wales plant could continue generating until at least December 2010. The UK government's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) gave its approval for continued generation earlier this month after Wylfa site contractor Magnox North showed the plant's generating life could be maximised while maintaining safety and operational performance. Wylfa currently meets more than 40 percent of electricity demand in Wales. Magnox North said the initial period of extension could realise a potential additional 3 terawatt hours of electricity generation, which is worth about 100 million pounds (about 116 million euro; 161 million US dollars) in the current market. Magnox North said the additional income generated would be used in support of the civil nuclear clean-up and decommissioning programme. Wylfa site director Greg Evans, added: "As fuel supply is not a problem, there is an excellent prospect that we could continue safely generating electricity at Wylfa beyond 2010, and we will be actively exploring this possibility on behalf of the NDA." The Wylfa site is part of the Magnox North Limited Site Licence Company, which is owned by EnergySolutions. EnergySolutions, based in the US state of Utah, is an international nuclear services company. Wylfa-1 began commercial operation in 1971 and Wylfa-2 in 1972. Both are Magnox-type reactors. Comments (0)
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