British Energy remains in talks with 10 potential partners for the construction of nuclear reactors and hopes to sign at least one deal in the next few months.
The nuclear energy group reported third-quarter results on Wednesday, which were hit by the unplanned closure of its Hartelpool and Heysham reactors.
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- British Energy Group Plc, the U.K.'s biggest power producer, said fiscal third-quarter profit fell 18 percent, weighed down by the cost of unscheduled reactor shutdowns and lower electricity prices.
MADRID, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Spain needs to build at least 13,000 megawatts worth of nuclear plants to achieve a feasible power generation mix by 2030, according to a study released by the country's nuclear lobby on Thursday.
Spain's eight existing nuclear power reactors each produce about 1,000 MW of electricity, but new reactors being built in other countries are much bigger.
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - British Energy will inspect three more reactors at its Hunterston B and Hinkley Point nuclear power stations later this year after stopping one unit over the weekend for boiler checks, a spokeswoman for the company said on Monday.
LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - British Energy's Torness-2 nuclear reactor restarted early on Thursday after tripping on Tuesday due to a faulty reading, a spokeswoman for the company said.
The 625-megawatt power plant stopped unexpectedly on Tuesday after an apparent problem in the boiler area of the power station in Scotland.
"There wasn't actually anything wrong with the plant," the spokeswoman said. "It was a spurious reading."
British Energy's nuclear plants can produce up to one fifth of Britain's power when they are all fully operational. (Reporting by Daniel Fineren)
It was hailed as the template for all future reactors – but then they tried to build it.
The island of Olkiluoto, off Finland's west coast, seems like the perfect picture of Nordic serenity. Surrounded by the still, idyllic waters of the Gulf of Bothnia, it looks like an ideal spot for a peaceful retreat away from it all. Anyone wanting to visit the island has to travel down a long, lonely road, hugged tightly on each side by a thick forest of spruce and birch, and avoid the many elk that roam freely.
Nuclear power is back on the agenda in Britain. If more nuclear stations are ordered, which is far from certain, it will mark a fresh start for an industry in which Britain once hoped to lead the world, but which was crippled by a series of misjudgments on the part of politicians, managers and investors.
British Energy has said that it would extend the lives of Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B nuclear power stations by five years to 2016.
The two sites, which are currently running at around 60% capacity due to boiler issues, began generating power in 1976.
Further studies will be conducted by 2013 regarding the potential for additional life extensions beyond 2016, the company added.
London (Platts)--6 Dec 2007
British Energy is investigating the cause of a hydrogen leak at Torness-1 in Scotland, BE said December 6.
BE spokeswoman Sue Fletcher said the advanced gas-cooled reactor was manually tripped December 1 following indications of the leak, which is on the conventional plant main turbo-generator. She could not say how long the reactor would be offline, she said, as BE is still devising a repair and restart plan. "We are also determining whether we will take the opportunity to carry out additional maintenance work while the unit is off," Fletcher said.
Nearly a third of Britain's nuclear power reactors have been out of action due to breakdowns and maintenance. Of the UK's 19 reactors, a total of seven have been shut down.
British Energy, which operates the affected sites, said a "conservative decision" had been taken to close units after safety checks uncovered faults.
