Horizon Nuclear Power has published new plans for its nuclear power station at Wylfa Newydd, which it states should cut the labour force needed to build the 2.7GW plant.
The company, which is owned by Hitachi, has proposed a more compact design in its latest blueprint for the site on the Isle of Anglesey, off the north Wales coast.
The power station’s footprint will be reduced by sharing more buildings between the twin reactors, including the facilities for transmitting the electricity generated at the site to the Grid.
Off-site support buildings, including a garage and back-up control facilities, will be housed in a single location. Horizon is also investigating making greater use of off-site construction at the plant, which will be built on the site of the existing Magnox plant at Wylfa.
The company estimates that the changes will reduce the peak demand for construction workers at the site from 10,000 to 9,000.
This in turn will mean less need for temporary workers’ accommodation, which will be housed in a single campus at the construction site.
The project is also seeking to boost the island’s skills base by supporting an upgrade of science and technology facilities at Anglesey’s five secondary schools.
And Horizon has pledged to help support a capital investment in new build affordable housing initially focusing on increasing the number of homes around the power station and in nearby Amlwch.
The project is expected to employ up to 850 people when it is fully operational in the mid 2020s.
Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive of Horizon Nuclear Power, said: “The changes we’re proposing will enable us to streamline our construction schedule, reduce the number of construction workers we need to bring in and temporarily house, and cut the number of development sites we need.”
Horizon has also applied for a nuclear site license for the Wylfa site.