French electricity company Electricite de France SA and the British government are unlikely to meet a deadline at the end of March to agree on subsidies that would allow the construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.K., people familiar with the matter said.
The people said in recent days that although discussions are still ongoing, they aren't intensive and neither side appeared to be willing to make any compromises.
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's plans to reward nuclear plant operators through fixed prices for low-carbon energy are illegal under existing EU rules and efforts to adapt them are likely to draw opposition from other member states, EU and legal sources said.
Britain plans to reform its electricity market to fix a minimum price for nuclear, wind and solar-generated power, which is carbon free.
HOLLAND has dropped its historic opposition to a sale of Urenco, clearing the way for a full privatisation of the state-backed nuclear fuel maker.
The sudden change of heart came after several rounds of intergovernmental talks over the future of Urenco, which is owned by the governments of Britain and Holland and two German utility companies.
THE boss of one of Britain’s biggest energy giants has blasted Government plans to encourage new nuclear plants.
Paul Massara, chief executive of RWE npower, said contracts lasting up to a rumoured 35 years, to guarantee generators a minimum price for electricity, would be “wrong”.
Ministers are being pressured to offer lengthy terms to get firms to commit to the vast cost of building nuclear power stations.
Proposed nuclear reactor in Somerset could be delayed by two years if competition directorate launches full-scale investigation
Britain's planned nuclear reactor programme could be delayed for years, and the nation's long-term energy policy thrown into turmoil, as European commission officials launch the first stage of a formal investigation into the use of taxpayer subsidies to support the development.
RWE npower, one of the big six power suppliers, has warned ministers not to seal a long-term subsidy deal with the nuclear industry behind the backs of consumers and saddle them with "unnecessarily high bills" for the next 40 years.
The warning from Paul Massara, RWE UK's new chief executive, comes as the Guardian can reveal that up to 15 private sector executives with links to the atomic sector have been seconded to government departments or other public sector roles.
Electricity firm EDF has confirmed it wants the UK government to sign 40-year contracts to support building new nuclear reactors in Britain – as the national energy regulator warned prices are likely to rise higher than expected.
The French-owned company is in talks with ministers over "contracts for difference" funding, under which the government guarantees generators will be paid a minimum price for electricity from new nuclear plants: if the market price falls lower than this "strike price" then a surcharge will be added to customers' bills; if it rises higher there would be a refund.
The government is launching a last-ditch attempt to sign up energy companies to build new nuclear power stations by proposing to sign contracts guaranteeing subsidies for up to 40 years.
The coalition agreement reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2010 promised that nuclear power stations would be built only if the industry got no public subsidy, but costly overruns for new reactors overseas and the exit of several major utilities from the UK programme, most recently Centrica, have driven ministers and officials to backtrack on that pledge and accept they will have to provide financial support.
EDF is aiming to complete negotiations with the UK government over new nuclear Contracts for Difference (CfDs) by the end of the first quarter of 2013, it confirmed today. The French-owned firm plans to make an investment decision on Hinkley Point C "as soon as possible" after that.
At its annual results presentation, chief executive Henri Proglio said EDF was seeking a 40-year contract for Hinkley Point C. Potential partners had come forward but nothing would be agreed until the contracts were in place and approved by Brussels.
Sellafield has pleaded guilty to sending several bags of radioactive waste to the wrong facility, according to the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
The nuclear power company admitted sending four bags of mixed general waste to the Lillyhall landfill site in Workington, Cumbria, in April 2010.
The bags, which contained waste such as plastic, tissues and clothing, should have gone to the low level waste repository, at Drigg.
