EDF poised for nuclear takeover

The UK's plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations capable of providing a significant contribution to a low carbon energy mix are expected to receive a major boost this week after reports emerged that EDF is poised to finalise its long-running take over of nuclear operator British Energy (BE).

The planned acquisition had appeared to have fallen through last month, when two of BE's largest shareholders, Invesco and M&G, rejected EDF's original bid.

However, according to a report in the Sunday Times, the acquisition is back on track after EDF raised its bid to about £12bn and the two companies are now expected to finalise the deal this week.

Following the completion of the take over, EDF is expected to signal its intention to press ahead with planned new plants at Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk, while also putting BE sites at Dungeness and Bradwell up for auction.

The government hopes to attract interest for the two auctioned sites from European energy giants E.ON, Iberdrola and Vattenfall, as part of a move that would introduce greater competition to the UK's energy nuclear sector.

Matthew Hulbert, senior analyst at research firm Datamonitor, said that the deal should help accelerate the development of the new fleet of nuclear reactors, which the government insists have a key role to play in a low carbon energy mix.

"If EDF had walked away, there was the risk that BE would have ended up selling one plant at a time, which would have been a very protracted process," he said. "[Business secretary] John Hutton will be a very happy man when this deal goes through… The UK's nuclear policy appears to be back on track."

The deal should also help accelerate the development of new reactors, according to Candida Whitmill of energy analysts Fells Associates. "EDF has a lot of experience and knowledge in how to build plants given that France's energy mix is 80 per cent nuclear," she said, adding that the company's bargaining clout in the sector could also help the UK move up the global waiting list for key reactor parts.

Hulbert added that were the deal to go through, the chances of the first new nuclear plants being operational by 2020 would increase significantly. " Globally we're seeing companies get quicker and quicker at bringing plants on line and with most new plants likely to be built on the site of old plants, where there is already general community support, planning hold ups could be minimised," he said.

A spokesman for EDF declined to comment on the reports.

The news comes as Japanese-owned nuclear reactor group Westinghouse is expected to release a study claiming that new nuclear reactors based on its design would provide a £30bn boost to the UK economy.

The study will be welcomed by John Hutton who recently signalled his intention that a renaissance in nuclear power would sit at the heart of government plans to create one million new low carbon manufacturing jobs.