A UK-US consortium has won the contract to manage the decommissioning and clean-up of the controversial Dounreay nuclear plant.
Babcock Dounreay Partnership beat an Amec-led bid to take over Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) – the site licence company that manages the project.
Over the next 15 to 20 years, the huge plant which was built to deliver the post-war dream of cheap energy through fast breeder technology, is to be reduced to nuclear waste storage facilities in the form of landscaped pits and heavily shielded sheds. They will be fenced off for 300 years.
But a final decision has yet to be taken on 100 tonnes of nuclear fuel which if kept in Caithness would need expensive security at all times, so it is likely to be sent south for reprocessing.
At present DSRL, which was created out of Dounreay’s former operator the UK Atomic Energy Authority, employs around 876 people with a similar number working for sub-contractors, the site police and regulatory bodies.
Babcock Dounreay Partnership will be expected to bring the Dounreay clean-up to a completion no later than 2032, spending no more than £150 million a year.
The announcement was made by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Tony Fountain, NDA Chief Executive, said: “We have undergone a comprehensive and rigorous process aimed at securing the best possible parent body for this challenging site. Babcock Dounreay Partnership bring a successful track record and extensive nuclear experience that will bring enormous benefits to the decommissioning and clean-up programme.”
Local MSP, the SNP’s Rob Gibson congratulated the partnership, but said: “What will be important is that all parties work with and for the community. Their actions will be closely scrutinised by many, including myself.”
John Thurso, MP for Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross, said: “I welcome the announcement of the preferred bidder and I look forward to working with them.”
One of the key criteria for the competition were that bids should accelerate the current 2038 closure date by at least six years while reducing costs by £500m.
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