Magnox is looking for a contractor to reduce the height of the reactor buildings in the first Nuclear plant in Trawsfynydd, North Wales.
Magnox is responsible for the safe and compliant closure of the power station, which was built in the early 1960s. The site stopped generating electricity in 1991 and has since been subject to decommissioning works.
The next phase of the decommissioning program will involve reducing the height of the site’s 55-metre-tall reactor buildings by about a third.
In their current state (pictured), the buildings provide safe and secure storage for the housed plants.
The project will involve the “systematic deconstruction and partial demolition of each reactor building, providing a reduced height configuration in line with existing planning commitments and reducing the visual impact on the landscape”.
In a tender announcement on May 27, Magnox added that a package of new construction and rehabilitation civil works would be delivered to extend the durability of the structures and reduce the “disproportionate liability for asset management”. This will provide adequate protection of the stored inventory, ready for the subsequent phases of on-site decommissioning activity.
Trawsfynydd site manager Angharad Rayner said: “The reactor buildings have formed a recognizable landmark on the Snowdonia National Park skyline for decades, so the reduction in height will be a visible sign of our progress “.
Interested companies have until June 26 to return prequalification questionnaires, and invitations will be sent to selected bidders on August 11.
The height reduction project will begin in November 2024.
It comes after Magnox awarded contracts earlier this month for a decommissioning project to clean up and demolish four “fan house” superstructures around two reactor buildings at the riverside Berkeley nuclear site Severn in Gloucestershire, England.
Industrial services company Altrad has been awarded a £30.8m contract for the design, asbestos abatement, removal, demolition and construction in and around the ventilation houses, and will be supported by companies from the Celadon alliance as KDC Veolia Decommissioning Services and NSG Environmental.
