Workington: Nuclear workforce will "quadruple", firm says
- Published
The workforce will quadruple, the CEO said.
Hundreds of "high end" jobs building a new type of nuclear reactor are expected for west Cumbria, an engineering company has said.
TSP Engineering says it will build small modular reactors, also known as SMRs, from its manufacturing facility in Workington.
Chief executive John Coughlan said the workforce will expand from 250 to 1000.
Workington's Conservative MP Mark Jenkinson said the announcement was "fantastic news".
Mr Coughlan said his company will make the "NuCell" that will generate power for the National Grid.
The reactors - described as small enough to "easily fit inside a two-storey house" - could power an area the size of Carlisle and be worth "some tens of millions of pounds" to the local economy, he added.
In a statement, TSP said: "This announcement and manufacture of the NuCell reactor will enable Great Britain to develop its own energy supply and become a global leader with the first NuCell reactor units targeted to be manufactured by 2027, allowing TSP and Cumbria to be ahead of the rest of the world."
It added that employment would be secured and grown "across all trades, engineering disciplines and support professions" in Cumbria "for decades to come".
The compact NuCell reactors will be built at TSP Engineering's base in Workington, the company says
Mr Jenkinson, a self-confessed "strong advocate for new nuclear", said: "I continue to fight hard to support and encourage investment in developments such as this.
"We are fortunate to have a strong supply chain for the nuclear industry in the Workington constituency.
"Manufacturing and design of new nuclear in Cumbria will be another boost to our local skills base - and will help grow jobs and support innovation across the engineering sector in West Cumbria.
"The nuclear industry has its roots firmly established here, and it is great to see that we are building on our strengths and leading the way in innovation".