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UK nuclear power struggle hots up as new team joins fray
4 Feb 2009
The scramble for the British nuclear industry intensified today as it emerged that another French heavyweight is bidding to build new multi-billion-pound reactors in the UK.
With fears increasing that Britain's looming energy crisis will mean electricity shortages and power cuts sooner rather than later, the Evening Standard can reveal that French giant GDF Suez is to enter the fray.
GDF Suez, the French gas giant that is also France's second-biggest electricity company, is to team with Iberdrola, Spain's number one energy company, and submit plans to build new nuclear power stations in the UK.
The surprise move sees GDF following its French energy rival EDF, which has already taken control of Britain's existing nuclear fleet through its £12.5 billion takeover of British Energy.
GDF and Iberdrola are to bid for available sites at any or all of three mostly redundant magnox power stations at Bradwell in Essex, Oldbury in Somerset and Wylfa in North Wales and at the atomic installation at Sellafield.
An auction for the sites is to be handled by the Government's Nuclear Decommissioning Agency reporting to Ed Milliband's Department of Energy and Climate Change. The GDF/Iberdrola venture will be immediately ranged against the combined German forces of E.ON and RWE.
E.ON and RWE, the owner in the UK of npower, are also pitching to build power stations at the sites on offer. They have said they are prepared to spend up to £20 billion on reactors capable of producing 6000 megawatts or almost 10% of the UK's generating capacity.
It is understood the GDF/Iberdrola 50-50 joint venture will supersede a nuclear alliance Iberdrola had been discussing with Southern Electric group Scottish and Southern Energy.
But it is also thought London-listed SSE will work with and potentially co-invest with the GDF and Iberdrola venture. An industry insider said: “The joint-venture deal is still being finalised. What SSE's role in the structure will be has not yet been confirmed.”
Iberdrola, which operates seven nuclear stations in Spain, already knows the British electricity market well, as it owns Scottish Power.
GDF Suez is the world's second-largest energy company, and owns nuclear power stations in Belgium.
Reader views (1)
From recent experience of the new Finnish nuclear power generator, it's clear that:
-- whatever budget is adopted for new nukes, there will be room for 50-100% cost overruns,as in Finland;
-- whoever builds these plants can plan for enormous future profits, as there will be no way that they can be substituted for halfway through.
The new generation of nukes therefore constitutes for builders a huge profit opportunity, with all of us required to foot the bill, no matter how large it may be.
The nuclear technology industry's inability to control costs makes wind and solar look easily affordable.
I'm amazed at the supine posture of our political leaders in allowing this boondoggle to proceed.
- Dr G Ledgerwood, Maidstone, 05/02/2009 10:04
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