Westinghouse electric has been awarded an engineering contract by the Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning Company (NND) to plan the decommissioning of the country's two nuclear research reactors at Halden and Keillor. The contract is for three years, including options for up to six years, and is worth up to 1 billion Norwegian kroner ($99 million).
Norway's two research reactors, the Nuclear Fuel and Materials Testing Reactor in Halden and the Jeep-II neutron scattering facility in Keller, were declared permanently closed in June 2018 and April 2019, respectively. Their ownership and responsibility will be transferred from the Energy Technology Institute to the NND.
The contract between NND and Westinghouse comes shortly after NND signed a framework agreement with a joint venture between Jacobs UK Limited and Multiconsult Norge AS to plan decommissioning of nuclear facilities in Norway. The agreement covers a range of disciplines required for the decommissioning phase of work. The initial focus will be on Halden and Jeep-II. Its scope includes engineering concept design and planning for new facilities, upgrading of existing nuclear and non-nuclear facilities, supporting NND with technical documentation, and preparing safety cases to meet ownership and operational licensing requirements.
Under the agreement, work is expected to begin immediately and continue for up to six years. The total value of the six-year multi-award framework is estimated at NOK 750 million with a maximum value of NOK 900 million, with an option with an estimated value of NOK 100 million.
In addition to the research reactor, Norway has several other nuclear facilities that will be decommissioned, as well as various types of nuclear waste that must be handled and disposed of in a safe manner. The overall programme for the disposal and decommissioning of the old fuel at halden and Keller reactors is expected to cost around NOK 20 billion and take 20-25 years.