LONDON--The U.K.'s plans for a new fleet of atomic power
stations received a boost Thursday as some of the biggest names in
European nuclear energy and engineering teamed to consider the
feasibility of deploying Russian-designed reactors in Britain.
Finland's Fortum Oyj (FUM1V.HE), Russian state-owned Rosatom and
British engineering giant Rolls-Royce PLC (RR.LN) said they will
jointly investigate the possibility of deploying Rosatom's
VVER-type reactors for the U.K.'s new-build nuclear program. To
facilitate this, Rosatom and the U.K. government signed a
cooperation agreement that will allow the company to familiarize
itself with the U.K. market and forge links with British firms.
Although no investment decision has yet been made by the three
companies, Matti Ruotsala, Fortum's executive vice president,
described the U.K. as "a really interesting opportunity."
Britain needs new nuclear plants to curb carbon emissions and
take over from power plants that are reaching the end of their
lifespan, but the government's ambitions for a new fleet have been
beset by political squabbles, escalating costs and pricing
disagreements.
Earlier in 2013 the U.K.'s largest utility, Centrica PLC
(CNA.LN), withdrew from a project to build four new reactors citing
soaring costs. Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) is locked in
negotiations over the "strike price," without which there is no
certainty on how much revenue companies will be able to generate.
German utilities RWE AG (RWE.XE) and E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) withdrew
from another program, selling out to Japanese industrial
electronics giant Hitachi Ltd. (6501.TO), while a final investment
decision on a new-build collaboration between France's GDF Suez
(GSZ.FR) and Spain's Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC) is two years off.
Under the three-way company agreement announced Thursday,
Fortum, Rosatom and Rolls-Royce will begin preparatory work with a
view to getting the VVER reactor into the U.K.'s Generic Design
Assessment, or GDA, program, which is the first step in a wider
approval process for new nuclear reactors. Regulators the Office
for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency use the GDA
process to assess the safety, security and environmental
implications of new reactor designs.
Hitachi's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor design is already
subject to a GDA.
The U.K. Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said:
"Inward investment into our energy sector will depend upon all
reactor technologies meeting the stringent and independent
regulatory standards required in the U.K. and European Union."
-Selina Williams contributed to this item.
Write to Ben Winkley at ben.winkley@wsj.com
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