News Jul 7, 2020

Jacobs Joins Major Companies and Trade Unions to Launch Moorside Clean Energy Hub

15 major companies have come together with trade unions to promote a Clean Energy Hub in North West England in the U.K.

looking upwards from the base of 2 electric pylons

Some of the U.K.’s leading companies supporting clean energy programs have come together with the trade unions to develop plans for a Clean Energy Hub based at Moorside in Cumbria.

At the center of the Hub’s plans is a proposal for a package of nuclear projects at Moorside, including a new 3.2 GW UK EPR power station, small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs). Co-locating future technologies alongside U.K. EPR technology – with its established, U.K. approved design - will bring together a range of skills, experience and industry knowledge at one site. This could enable a project to start quickly and help to bring forward the development of SMRs and AMRs.

Alongside Jacobs, the Moorside Hub includes businesses, trade unions and individuals such as Altrad; Atkins; Balfour Beatty Bailey; Bilfinger; Cavendish Nuclear; Doosan Babcock; EDF; GMB; Laing O’Rourke; Mott MacDonald; Mace; Prospect; Quod; Unite the Union; and Professor John Fyfe CBE (economic development specialist).

Several of the companies in the Hub, including Jacobs, are involved in the construction of Hinkley Point C in Somerset where the project has already created 10,000 jobs and more than £1.7 billion has already been spent in the local economy. Many of this U.K. nuclear team are involved in Sizewell C, the Development Consent Order for which was recently accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate. Work on Sizewell C has shown that the design of Hinkley Point C can be replicated in different ground conditions, and that that the power station can offer low carbon heat as well as electricity.

By linking the nuclear plants to other energy technologies, such as renewables and green hydrogen, the members aim to create an integrated Clean Energy Hub for the North West. The Hub hopes to capitalize on the region’s existing nuclear supply chain and could boost orders for hundreds of companies and create thousands of jobs.

The Hub has also been seeking advice from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Copeland Council, and Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster to develop the plans. The Hub will explore ways of providing clean heat to industry and could also become a center for producing hydrogen to be used as green fuel for local transport and industrial processes.

“I am really excited to welcome the engagement of the nuclear supply chain at this critical stage and want to thank everyone in industry and community leadership roles who have been instrumental thus far,” said Trudy Harrison, Member of Parliament for Copeland.

Ivan Baldwin, Chair, Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster said: “Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster is where the energy sector meets local business in the North West and we welcome the engagement of EDF and its consortia with their ambitious proposal for Moorside. Cumbria’s Energy Coast is a leading location for low carbon energy development, home to one of the world’s largest offshore windfarms and one of the world’s largest nuclear energy clusters.

“We look forward to continuing collaborative discussions with the Moorside Consortium which complement regional ambitions to establish a Clean Energy Hub. As with all inward investment discussions, our focus remains on maximizing local business opportunities, job creation and establishing long term green collar career paths for our younger generation,” he added.

For more information on proposals, please download The Moorside Clean Energy Hub brochure here.