French to cash in with nuclear UK | This is Money

French to cash in with nuclear UK This is Money

FRENCH energy giant EDF is targeting Britain with a multi-billion pound programme to build nuclear power stations.

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EDF, which owns London Electricity and generates UK supplies with wind farms as well as coal and gasfired power stations, is ready to invest in a series of nuclear plants using its European pressurised water reactor. Each 1,000 megawatt power station, capable of lighting a million homes, costs about £1.1bn.
The French company, headed by Pierre Gadonneix, is the world's leading operator of nuclear power plants. There are 56 in France, all owned by EDF.
The plan to target Britain follows signs of a change in energy policy by Labour, which until now has blocked construction of new nuclear plants.
Soaring energy prices and fears of Britain becoming dependent on unreliable suppliers have forced Tony Blair to order another review of energy policy. He told business leaders at a CBI conference in London last November: 'Energy prices have risen and supply is under threat. Climate change is producing a sense of urgency.'
The latest energy crisis has heightened fears about security of supplies. It erupted when Russian gas giant Gazprom closed the pipelines to Ukraine in a row over prices.
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All of Britain's 20 nuclear power stations and most of its coal-fired power stations will be closed by 2020. They account for 30 per cent of the country's energy needs and the Department of Trade & Industry now believes that a programme of renewable energy - wind farms and wave power - will not bridge the gap.
Paul McIntyre, a senior civil servant at the DTI, will begin a long-awaited review into energy policy this week. The Government has pledged it will be completed by June.
Planners at EDF estimate that it would take about ten years to build the first new nuclear plant, but first, there would have to be a Government decision to go for a balanced energy policy. If so, the German-owned companies Eon and RWE are expected to join the bidding.
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