Dutch utility Delta has begun the licensing process to build the Netherlands’ second nuclear power plant at Borssele.
On 25 June the company said it had submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment – the first stage in the process to obtain a permit to build a new unit at Borssele
The next stage is for an environmental impact assessment, which will be submitted to the government by 2011. If successful, Delta said a construction licence application could be submitted a year later. Construction, estimated to last for five years, could start in 2013 with operation beginning in 2018.
Although the type of plant has not been disclosed it is expected to cost EUR4-5 billion. Delta, which owns 50% of nuclear power plant operator EPZ, said that because nuclear is low-carbon it is a cost effective, reliable solution and is not dependent on subsidies.
In 2008, Borssele supplied almost 4% of the electricity in the Netherlands. It is a 450MW PWR which started commercial operation in 1973.
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