U.K. Sellafield Site for New Nuclear Plant on Sale

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.K.'s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has announced plans to sell a massive site suitable for building a new nuclear power plant adjacent to the Sellafield nuclear processing site in Cumbria.

The 250-hectare (618-acre) site comprises mainly farmland but also some outbuildings and storage facilities from the nearby Sellafield plant. The sale is expected to raise about 100 million pounds ($140 million), although, considering the fierce competition at the recent online auction for new nuclear sites in the U.K., this could rise. For additional information, see May 1, 2009, news article - U.K. Nuclear Sites Sell for $577 Million.

The online auction for three sites -- Wylfa, North Wales (178 hectares); Oldbury, Gloucestershire (48 hectares); and Bradwell, Essex (200 hectares) -- raised 387 million pounds ($577 million), far higher than was expected. The winning bidders for Oldbury and Wylfa comprised a consortium of the U.K. subsidiaries of RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Duesseldorf, Germany). EDF Development Company Limited, a part of Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris), secured the Bradwell site.

The big loser in that auction was an alliance of Iberdrola Renovables SA (Valencia, Spain), GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) (Paris) and Scottish and Southern Energy Plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland), which bowed out when the bidding got too hot. It is expected that one, or all, of those companies will be keen to win the Sellafield site this time around.

"The NDA's land adjacent to Sellafield has outstanding potential as a site for new development," NDA Commercial Director John Clarke said. "The NDA recognises the interest generated in its first phase land sale, and looks forward to engaging with interested parties as it continues in its strategy of maximising value from its assets for the benefit of the U.K. taxpayer."

The first step in the sale process will be for all potential bidders to return a compliant expression of interest, signed confidentiality agreement and data room rules. The NDA said it reserves the right to exclude parties at any stage that do not offer a reasonable prospect of delivering value. The sale is expected to be complete before the end of the year.

EDF, which plans to build two 1,600-megawatt (MW) European pressurised reactors (EPRs) at Sizewell C and a further two at Hinkley Point C, recently announced that it plans to sell a site for a new nuclear plant in Heysham, Lancashire or Dungeness in southeast Kent. For additional information, see May 18, 2009, news article - EDF Selling U.K. Site for New Nuclear Plant.

In related news, the NDA has just announced that the U.K.'s oldest operating nuclear plant , Wylfa, has been granted approval to continue generating electricity for at least another nine months past its planned closure date of March 2010. The 980-MW plant has generated electricity since 1971 and provides more than 40% of Wales' electricity needs. The extension period offers the potential for an additional 3 terawatt-hours of electricity valued at about 100 million pounds at current market prices.

"Working in partnership with our customer, the NDA, we have been able to invest in the plant to ensure that it is in good condition," Wylfa's Site Director Greg Evans said. "As fuel supply is not a problem, there is an excellent prospect that we could continue safely generating electricity at Wylfa beyond 2010, and we will be actively exploring this possibility on behalf of the NDA."

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