Aim is to deploy 1,500 MW of nuclear capacity in west of country
A company has been formed with the goal of developing up to 1,500 MW of nuclear power using multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the west of Norway, Norsk Kjernekraft said.
The Bergen-based nuclear project development company said Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft AS had been founded in partnership between the municipalities of Aure and Heim and local energy company NEAS.
The proposed location for the nuclear facility is a common industrial area in the border region between the two municipalities, about 150 km to the west of the city of Trondheim.
Norsk Kjernekraft has submitted a proposal to the Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Energy to assess the possibility of building a SMR plant in the region.
The company said in a statement that if all goes according to plan, site investigations will be able to begin “as early as this year”. It said dialogue with residents, businesses and politicians in Heim and Aure municipalities has been “very constructive and good2.
Norsk Kjernekraft said if the 1,500-MW project is realised in its entirety, it will correspond to almost 10% of all Norwegian power production and all developed wind power in Norway.
Norsk Kjernekraft has so far announced four possible sites for nuclear in Norway.
Apart from Aure and Heim, the other areas being considered are Halden, a town in southeast Norway close to the Swedish border, Vardo in the far north of the country, and Oygarden, in the southwest.
Norway has never had commercial nuclear power plants, but has operated two research reactors for the production of medical radioisotopes and research purposes.
