U.K.'s Nuclear Revival Hit Again

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The U.K.'s attempts to kick-start its old nuclear power industry have hit another stumbling block following the withdrawal of potential investors from a project to build a new nuclear power plant at Wylfa in Wales.

French engineering giant, Areva SA (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) and its Chinese partner, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) (Shenzhen), have decided not to bid for Horizon Nuclear Power. Horizon, a joint venture created by German energy giants RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), had won the rights to develop up to 6,000-megawatts (MW) of new nuclear projects at Wylfa and Oldbury but, earlier this year, they dropped their U.K. plans. For additional information, see March 30, 2012 article - RWE and E.ON Drop U.K. Nuclear Power Joint Venture.

Speaking to the media, an Areva spokesperson confirmed: "I can now tell you that Areva and CGNPC have suspended their interest in the planned sale of Horizon Nuclear Power and did not submit a bid". The Areva/CGNPC bid was viewed as one of the strongest but there are still two others being considered, one from U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Monroeville, Pennsylvania)and another from Japan's Hitachi Ltd (Tokyo, Japan).

The U.K.'s Energy Secretary Ed Davey. told the so-called 'gloomsters' that it is too early to write off the Wylfa project yet.

"Decisions by any individual consortia don't change that reality," Davey said. "What the Horizon bidding and sale process has shown is how attractive the U.K.'s nuclear offer is and I would urge the gloomsters to wait."

In August, the existing nuclear plant at Wylfa was granted permission by U.K. government to continue generating electricity up until 2014, four years after it was supposed to be shut down. The decision was made after the successful transfer of partially used fuel from Wylfa Reactor 2 to Reactor 1. For additional information, see October 14, 2010, article - Wylfa Nuclear Plant Gets New Lifeline.

Wylfa is the largest and last reactor of its type to be built in the U.K and has a generating capacity of 490 (MW). It is the only Magnox site still generating electricity, following the closure of Oldbury Power Station in March this year. Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.