Moorside (Cancelled)
West Cumbria, UK · Proposed (2010s, cancelled 2018) · Not applicable (cancelled before main construction, significant investment lost)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchCancellation due to Toshiba's financial difficulties and inability to find a buyer for NuGen, highlighting the vulnerability of nuclear projects to corporate financial health. - Demonstrated the challenges of delivering new nuclear capacity in the UK without robust financial models. - Lessons learned regarding the importance of stable financial backing and diversified ownership for major infrastructure projects.
Key engineering challenges
Securing financial backing for a large-scale nuclear project. - Overcoming financial difficulties of parent company (Toshiba). - Navigating complex regulatory and political landscapes.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- NuGen (Toshiba subsidiary)
- Lead contractor
- Not applicable (cancelled)
- Lead designers
- Westinghouse (proposed AP1000 reactors)
- Project type
- new build (cancelled)
- Scale
- Proposed 3.8 GW (three AP1000 reactors)
- Disciplines
- nuclear; civil; electrical; mechanical; planning
- Standards & frameworks
- ONR (proposed)
Sources: Wikipedia: Moorside nuclear power station (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorside_nuclear_power_station) - PowerMag: Toshiba Scraps Massive AP1000 Nuclear Project in the UK (https://www.powermag.com/toshiba-scraps-massive-ap1000-nuclear-project-in-the-uk/) - NucNet: UK Minister Asks NDA To Consider New Nuclear Capacity At Moorside (https://www.nucnet.org/news/uk-minister-asks-nda-to-consider-new-nuclear-capacity-at-moorside-6-5-2025) - Utility Week: Does the cancellation of Moorside leave a generation gap? (https://utilityweek.co.uk/cancellation-moorside-leave-generation-gap/) - ONR: Moorside (https://www.onr.org.uk/our-work/what-we-regulate/new-reactors/licensing-of-new-reactors/moorside)