Jim Crawford, currently Station Director for Sizewell B power station has been appointed as Project Development Director for EDF Energy’s Sizewell C project.
The new role takes effect from 1 March and will see Jim take responsibility for leading the Sizewell C project to a successful final investment decision and into construction.
EDF Energy’s Paul Morton takes over from Jim Crawford as Sizewell B station director. Paul has a long history with the energy sector and joins Sizewell B from EDF Energy’s Cottam power station in Nottinghamshire.
Speaking about the appointment Jim Crawford said: “I have been proud to be station director of Sizewell B. The station had a record year of power production in 2015 and has saved some 126 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since it started operating in 1995.
“Sizewell C provides a great opportunity to build on this, to provide more local jobs, more contracts for UK businesses and more opportunities for young people in education whilst delivering power generation for 5million homes for 60 years.”
Paul Morton said: “Sizewell B is a fantastic power station with a great track record. I am delighted to take on this new role and am looking forward to getting to know the team at the station and the local community.”
Jim Crawford was appointed Station Director of Sizewell B power station in March 2010 following two years as the stations Plant Manager. Jim graduated in 1979 from Strathclyde University with a degree in Chemistry and was awarded an MBA in 2001. He has been in the nuclear industry for 36 years with the last seven years based with his family in Suffolk.
Paul Morton brings 25 years’ experience in the power industry and has worked for CEGB, PowerGen, EON and EDF Energy at High Marnham, Ratcliffe, Connah’s Quay, Enfield, Grain (Oil & CCGT) and Cottam.
Sizewell B delivers safe, reliable power to over 2million homes and businesses every day and is on track to have a ‘breaker to breaker’ run of generation over the last 18months. Which means non-stop electricity was delivered to the grid between the maintenance outage in 2014 until the next outage in April 2016.
Sizewell B achieved a UK industry record in 2015 by delivering 10.45TWhrs of power generation. The station will operate until 2035 but this could be extended by 20 years.
The station is a key employer in the eastern region bringing some £40million pounds each year into the local economy. Over 550 people are directly employed at the site on the Suffolk coast with a further 200 carrying out contract roles.
Sizewell C is a proposed new nuclear power station that would be built to the north of Sizewell B on the Suffolk coast. It would have two reactors, known as UK EPRs, capable of generating enough electricity to supply around five million homes. The project would create 5,600 jobs during peak construction and 900 jobs during operation. EDF Energy has completed the first stage of consultation on the project.
Cottam and its sister station West Burton A are coal-fired power stations near Retford in Nottinghamshire, capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 7.5 million UK homes. Cottam is a 2000MW station which began generating power in 1969 and employs 220 people and around 175 contract partners