Jacobs supports UK’s drive for clean energy with power plant life extension programme
26/05/2022
Jacobs has been selected alongside General Electric and Westinghouse Electric Company LLC to support preliminary phase life extension work at the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, UK. 
EDF, operator of Sizewell B, is leading a long-term operation (LTO) programme aimed at extending the station’s operating lifespan by 20 years to 2055.
Phase 1 of the programme entails scoping works and cost-benefit analysis to underpin the business case before a final investment decision is made in 2024. EDF estimates the total value of this phase at ₤10 million.
Sizewell B is the only pressurised water reactor and the most modern and efficient plant in the UK’s civil nuclear fleet. The UK’s nuclear stations have generated more than 2000 terawatt hours of zero-carbon electricity since 1976, enough to power all of the UK’s homes for more than 18 years, and their output has avoided the emission of 700 million tonnes of CO2.
“This collaboration, between Jacobs, General Electric, Westinghouse and EDF, brings together the original equipment manufacturer/architect engineer organisations from the design and construction of Sizewell B in the 1990s,” said Karen Wiemelt, Jacobs Energy Security & Technology Senior Vice President. “Jacobs has worked at the station since initial construction and, along with our partners, we bring intrinsic knowledge and experience of plant life extension to the LTO programme, which will help safeguard the future of a vital part of the UK’s clean energy infrastructure.”
“Sizewell B power station is an important national asset that helps deliver clean, independent energy supplies. EDF is actively exploring a 20-year life extension opportunity to take output to 2055. A final investment decision is anticipated by 2024,” said Paul Morton, EDF Chief Nuclear Officer.
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