British Gas owners Centrica may join a £10billion consortium vying to control the UK's nuclear power plants.
Centrica hopes to lead a continental group bidding for British Energy, which runs all of the UK's nuke sites.
Europe
Centrica in £10bn bid to control nuclear power plants
Monday, April 7, 2008
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French vision for a nuclear future
Monday, April 7, 2008It is only a matter of time. Since the UK government gave the go-ahead for new nuclear power plants, a takeover of British Energy has become all but inevitable. The nuclear power generator owns the sites on which future plants are likely to be built. It is a tasty target for EDF and other big continental European suppliers who want a slice of the UK's nuclear revival.
Placing the nuclear industry in the hands of a sole foreign owner might seem unpalatable. Yet a foreign buyer, particularly a French one, could be in the UK's interest.
Enel CEO says Italy can build nuclear plant in 7 years
Monday, April 7, 2008MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Italy could build a nuclear power plant in just seven years if the country uses a site already destined for such purposes in the past, said Fulvio Conti, CEO of the electricity generator Enel SpA, in an interview with Saturday's La Repubblica.
Italy banned the use of nuclear energy in Italy in 1987, but Silvio Berlusconi, the head of a right-wing coalition indicated by opinion polls as the probable winner of general elections to be held on April 13-14, advocates the reintroduction of nuclear power and believes it could take five years to build a power plant.
Funding for clean-up of nuclear sites is unsustainable, say MPs
Monday, April 7, 2008The way in which the £73bn clean-up of Britain's nuclear sites is funded is unsustainable and in urgent need of reform, the government is warned today.
More taxpayers' money is also likely to be required to finance the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), according to the cross-party business and enterprise committee of MPs.
Spain: Greenpeace says radioactive contamination found outside nuclear station in northeast
Monday, April 7, 2008MADRID, Spain: Radioactive contamination has been found on external surfaces of a nuclear power station on the banks of major river in northeast Spain, the environmental group Greenpeace said Saturday.
Radioactivity linked to cobalt, manganese and other elements was detected on roofs, fences and other places around the Asco nuclear power station on the Ebro River 70 kilometers (44 miles) upstream from the Mediterranean Sea, Greenpeace said in a statement.
NEC launches final round of talks with RWE, Electrabel
Sunday, April 6, 2008Bulgaria's power grid operator the National Electricity Company (NEC) launched the final round of talks with Germany's RWE and Belgium's Electrabel, who are bidding to become strategic investors in Belene nuclear power plant, sources close to the procedure said, as quoted by mediapool.bg on April 3.
NEC wants the two candidates to clarify their offers for a 49 per cent stake in the company that will build and run Belene. The two 1000MW reactors of the plant are scheduled to be connected to the power grid by 2014.
Problems at French nuclear construction site for company seeking Ont. contract
Sunday, April 6, 2008One of the companies competing to build new nuclear reactors in Ontario has run into trouble with regulators in France.
The French nuclear safety watchdog says there are a number of serious infractions in the Areva construction of a reactor in northern France - the same type of reactor it wants to sell to Ontario.
Lithuania nuclear extension not real option-EU
Friday, April 4, 2008VILNIUS, April 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday again poured cold water on Lithuanian hopes to extend the life of the Baltic state's Soviet-era nuclear power plant.
The government has said it will try to convince the Commission that the Baltic state will face serious energy shortages after shutting the Ignalina plant and has appointed a special negotiator to try and secure this goal.
Efforts to be made to ensure support from Estonia and Latvia to extension of Ignalina nuclear power plant operation
Friday, April 4, 2008(ELTA) - Parliamentary committees of the Baltic states are going to search for common solutions in the electronic area and energy security fields. The defense committees meeting on Wednesday consider the projects related to the new nuclear power plant and the electricity links to be the most important topics of their forth meeting.
Czech president voices support for nuclear energy
Friday, April 4, 2008PRAGUE (Thomson Financial) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus reiterated support for the further use of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic after a meeting with the industry minister Wednesday, news agency CTK reported.
'If we want to have electric energy, we cannot get along without nuclear energy,' Klaus was quoted as saying.
