nuclear-news

Wheeling and dealing as China, France, try to sell nuclear reactors to UK

EDF, China firm held British nuclear talks
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/15816531/edf-china-firm-held-british-nuclear-talks/,
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Karolin Schaps, Sophie
Sassard and Sarah Young in London, additional reporting by David
Standway in Beijing; editing by Jason Neely
January 12, 2013  PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – France’s EDF remains in the
hunt for a partner to build four nuclear reactors in Britain after
talks were halted with China’s Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation
Holding (CGNPC) , sources close to the talks said on Friday.

“They have talked. EDF and CGNPC have a relationship going back many
years,” one source said. But two other sources close to the
discussions confirmed negotiations regarding a British partnership are
no longer ongoing.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported on Friday that the talks
had focused on the state-owned Chinese firm taking over a 20 percent
stake in EDF’s nuclear new build programme owned by UK firm Centrica .

A spokesman for Centrica said the company continued to be involved in
the project.

EDF declined to comment and CGNPC was not available for immediate comment.

CGNPC and EDF along with French reactor maker Areva signed an
agreement in November to jointly develop a new type of reactor.

The French government later said it had opened an investigation into a
partnership deal which EDF had signed with a Chinese nuclear utility
in order to verify whether France’s strategic interests were
respected.

January 11, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK