China, Japan, USA, France, Russia all keen to market nuclear reactors to UK

Two consortiums interested in reactors http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/19dd4f1e-d425-11e1-942c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz21Vo4ZRkh By Rebecca Bream, Anousha Sakoui and Jim Pickard London July 22, 2012 The management of Horizon, the energy group, and government officials are to start detailed talks with potential investors, including Chinese state-owned power groups, about building nuclear reactors in Anglesey and Gloucestershire.

At least two consortiums have told the government and Horizon, which is being sold by German energy groups Eon and RWE, that they are interested in bidding for the venture, which plans to build new reactors near the sites of existing nuclear plants at Wylfa, Anglesey,
and Oldbury, Gloucestershire.

The first is led by Toshiba Westinghouse, the Japanese-owned nuclear reactor manufacturer, in partnership with State Nuclear Power Technology Corp of China and Exelon, the US power generator.
The second comprises Areva, the French state-controlled reactor manufacturer, and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp, possibly in partnership with other energy groups and investors.
SNPTC is a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp set up to develop
“third-generation” nuclear technologies and already has joint ventures
with Toshiba-Westinghouse. CGNPC is also state-owned and is building
new reactors with Areva in southern China.
It is thought that GE Hitachi, the US-Japanese nuclear joint venture,
is also interested in bidding, but it would be at a disadvantage as it
has not started the long process of getting its reactor technology
licensed in the UK, unlike Areva and Toshiba Westinghouse.
People familiar with the bidding process say detailed due diligence
work had now started on submitting final bids for Horizon by the end
of September, including meetings early this week between Horizon
management, government officials and representatives of Toshiba
Westinghouse.
Areva and Horizon declined to comment, while Toshiba Westinghouse
could not be reached.

Luc Oursel, chief executive of Areva, said in July that RWE and Eon
were expected to make a decision on a successful bidder “probably by
the end of the year”. They announced the sale of Horizon in March as a
result of the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power
following last year’s crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor in
Japan.
Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear group, had expressed an interest
in building reactors in the UK, but would be seen as less desirable
because, like GE Hitachi, it has not yet begun the process of getting
approval for its reactor designs from the UK’s Office for Nuclear
Regulation.
The new wave of nuclear development in the UK is being led by EDF, the
French state-controlled energy group, which is aiming to make a final
decision by the end of the year on whether to build a new plant at
Hinkley Point in Somerset in partnership with Centrica, owner of
British Gas.
Horizon’s nuclear projects are less advanced, and a joint venture
between Iberdrola of Spain and GDF Suez of France is not due to make a
final decision on building a new reactor at Sellafield in Cumbria
until 2015.