for a £2.8billion project to connect the new plant to the national electricity grid. The proposal involves putting power-lines underground and under Morecambe Bay to reduce the impact on the Lake District National Park. Following the bankruptcy of Westinghouse in March 2017, Engie pulled out of NuGen in July, leaving Toshiba as the sole owner of NuGen. In December 2017, NuGen announced that Kepco was named the preferred bidder to acquire NuGen from Toshiba. If the sale to Kepco proceeds, the three AP1000 reactors were likely to be replaced by two APR-1400 units. Tom Samson, CEO of NuGen stated "The Kepco selection presents us with a solution that fully addresses the four questions [on technology, ownership structure, funding solution, and delivery model] that we set ourselves at the start of this process. On technology, the APR1400 tech has been operational now for one year in Korea and it’s a recognised Gen III+ design, and the first Gen III+ design to go into service in the world." The potential design change to APR-1400 would delay the likely in-service date into the late 2020s or early 2030s. In July 2018, NuGen announced a consultation to lay off 100 UK staff, while it remained unclear whether the Kepco takeover would go ahead. On 25 July 2018, Toshiba terminated Kepco's status as preferred bidder, but would continue discussions with it and other potential purchasers. On 8 November 2018, Toshiba announced they withdrawing from the project and liquidating NuGen. National Grid expects the £2.8billion North West Coast Connections project for new power-lines to be abandoned. In 2020, two companiesEDF and Rolls-Royceexpressed interest in restarting the project. Proposals being considered for the Moorside clean energy hub include a 3,200MWe EPR plant, SMR or AMR modular reactors, as well as renewables, storage and hydrogen technologies. Opposition The proposal to build the station is opposed by Radiation Free Lakeland, a group of local activists. A report evaluating the AP1000 reactor design was written by the Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy, commissioned by Radiation Free Lakeland. The report criticises the design, saying that "The AP1000 reactor design is not fit for purpose and so should be refused a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) and Statement of Design Acceptability (SDA)″. Consultation Stage 1 consultation took place between May and July 2015 and a report was published on 23 November 2015. Stage 2 consultation took place between May and July 2016. Design