Released May 01, 2009 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.K.'s hotly contested auction for future nuclear plant sites has ended with RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Duesseldorf, Germany) and Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris) emerging as winners.
The online auction by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for three sites near existing nuclear plants began over a month ago, and bidding topped 387 million pounds ($577 million), far exceeding expectations. Previous estimates had put the total sale value at under $300 million, which was already considered high. For additional information, see April 1, 2009, news article - Bidding War Erupts for New U.K. Nuclear Sites.
The three sites up for grabs included 178 hectares (438 acres), along with an option to acquire grid connection rights in Wylfa, North Wales; 48 hectares (119 acres) in Oldbury, Gloucestershire; and 200 hectares (493 acres) in Bradwell, Essex; next to a Magnox nuclear power station that is currently being decommissioned.
The U.K. subsidiaries of E.ON and RWE secured the land in Wylfa and Oldbury, while EDF Development Company Limited managed to buy the Bradwell land. A consortium consisting of Iberdrola Renovables SA (Valencia, Spain), GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) (Paris) and Scottish and Southern Energy Plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland) were also in the running but reportedly bowed out after bidding for the Bradwell site alone topped $223 million.
"This complex process started in March 2008 when the NDA requested expressions of interest for its assets," said Richard Waite, acting Chief Executive of the NDA. "The project team developed an innovative solution designed to maximise value which has been completed on schedule. The sale of these three sites is worth up to 387 million pounds, which the NDA will use to help fund the cost of decommissioning and further its core mission."
The NDA now intends to press ahead with the disposal of more land at Sellafield "as soon as practicably possible."
Andrew Duff, Chief Executive of RWE npower, said: "I'm delighted the joint venture has begun so strongly with the successful acquisition of two of the best available sites for nuclear development. These investments emphasise our commitment to developing secure low-CO2 energy options for the U.K. We now expect and look forward to seeing equally strong commitment from the government to deliver efficient planning and technology licensing processes, effective resourcing of the nuclear regulator, and common standards and reference designs with the EU. This must be set in the context of a predictable, long term, regulatory framework for the energy markets."
Dr. Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, added: "This is excellent news, but securing the land is simply the first step on a much longer journey as we look to decarbonise the U.K. power industry. It is absolutely vital that we as a country build new nuclear power stations to generate alongside cleaner fossil fuels and renewables to ensure security of supply while also reducing carbon emissions and keeping our customers' energy bills as low as possible. Following last week's announcement by the government on its way forward on coal and on offshore wind, we are clearly starting to see the roadmap that will take the U.K. to our low-carbon future take shape, but it is also clear that much remains to be done."
The U.K. government recently published a list of 11 sites that may be used for building new nuclear power plants. Including the three sites just sold, they include:
View Plant Profile - 1078414 1078631 1084332 1078374
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
The online auction by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for three sites near existing nuclear plants began over a month ago, and bidding topped 387 million pounds ($577 million), far exceeding expectations. Previous estimates had put the total sale value at under $300 million, which was already considered high. For additional information, see April 1, 2009, news article - Bidding War Erupts for New U.K. Nuclear Sites.The three sites up for grabs included 178 hectares (438 acres), along with an option to acquire grid connection rights in Wylfa, North Wales; 48 hectares (119 acres) in Oldbury, Gloucestershire; and 200 hectares (493 acres) in Bradwell, Essex; next to a Magnox nuclear power station that is currently being decommissioned.
The U.K. subsidiaries of E.ON and RWE secured the land in Wylfa and Oldbury, while EDF Development Company Limited managed to buy the Bradwell land. A consortium consisting of Iberdrola Renovables SA (Valencia, Spain), GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) (Paris) and Scottish and Southern Energy Plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland) were also in the running but reportedly bowed out after bidding for the Bradwell site alone topped $223 million.
"This complex process started in March 2008 when the NDA requested expressions of interest for its assets," said Richard Waite, acting Chief Executive of the NDA. "The project team developed an innovative solution designed to maximise value which has been completed on schedule. The sale of these three sites is worth up to 387 million pounds, which the NDA will use to help fund the cost of decommissioning and further its core mission."
The NDA now intends to press ahead with the disposal of more land at Sellafield "as soon as practicably possible."
Andrew Duff, Chief Executive of RWE npower, said: "I'm delighted the joint venture has begun so strongly with the successful acquisition of two of the best available sites for nuclear development. These investments emphasise our commitment to developing secure low-CO2 energy options for the U.K. We now expect and look forward to seeing equally strong commitment from the government to deliver efficient planning and technology licensing processes, effective resourcing of the nuclear regulator, and common standards and reference designs with the EU. This must be set in the context of a predictable, long term, regulatory framework for the energy markets."
Dr. Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, added: "This is excellent news, but securing the land is simply the first step on a much longer journey as we look to decarbonise the U.K. power industry. It is absolutely vital that we as a country build new nuclear power stations to generate alongside cleaner fossil fuels and renewables to ensure security of supply while also reducing carbon emissions and keeping our customers' energy bills as low as possible. Following last week's announcement by the government on its way forward on coal and on offshore wind, we are clearly starting to see the roadmap that will take the U.K. to our low-carbon future take shape, but it is also clear that much remains to be done."
The U.K. government recently published a list of 11 sites that may be used for building new nuclear power plants. Including the three sites just sold, they include:
- Hartlepool, nominated by EDF Energy
- Heysham, nominated by EDF Energy
- Dungeness, nominated by EDF Energy
- Hinkley Point, nominated by EDF Energy
- Sizewell, nominated by EDF Energy
- Kirksanton, nominated by RWE
- Braystones, nominated by RWE
- Wylfa Peninsula, nominated by NDA and RWE
- Sellafield, nominated by NDA
- Bradwell, nominated by NDA
- Oldbury, nominated by NDA and E.ON
View Plant Profile - 1078414 1078631 1084332 1078374
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
