Sellafield Ltd., the firm leading decommissioning of England’s Sellafield nuclear site, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on Friday.
As the U.K. nuclear regulator, NDA owns 17 sites across England, Wales, and Scotland. Sellafield Ltd. was previously owned by private consortium Nuclear Management Partners. The U.K. government announced the move in January 2015, resulting in NMP losing its $13.6 billion contract as the site’s “parent body organization.” Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said then that Sellafield’s “complexity and technical uncertainties presented significantly greater challenges than other NDA sites,” and Sellafield wasn’t suited for the existing private-sector model.
“This is a new chapter for Sellafield,” NDA CEO John Clarke said in a statement Friday. “Without a commercially driven contract, the NDA and Sellafield Ltd will be working to exactly the same goal, safely delivering the mission as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
With the change of management, energy industry veteran Tony Fountain becomes the new chairman of the Sellafield Ltd. Board. Fountain’s resume includes execute roles with NDA, BP, and India-based conglomerate Reliance Industries.
