Britain opens its nuclear industry to Chinese investors

The Indian Panorama - Newspaper - Logo

BEIJING (TIP): Britain opened the door to Chinese investors taking majority stakes in future nuclear plants on Thursday as finance minister George Osborne signed a deal aimed at helping find the billions of pounds needed to replace the country’s ageing reactors. On a visit to China, Osborne said the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on nuclear cooperation that included roles for British companies in China’s nuclear sector, which is the fastest growing in the world. “While any initial Chinese stake in a nuclear power project is likely to be a minority stake, over time stakes in subsequent new power stations could be majority stakes,” a statement from the UK Treasury said. The MOU also covers training in Britain for Chinese technicians, it said.

Chinese nuclear companies have expressed an interest in building in Britain, but until Thursday’s announcement it was unclear whether the British government would welcome China’s participation. The government said this week it was “extremely close” to a deal with French energy company EDF related to building Britain’s first new nuclear power station since 1995, a project which is likely to involve China General Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG). That deal centres on a 35-year contract guaranteeing EDF and its potential partners an electricity price for the power from the new plant of £92.5 per megawatt hour, roughly double the current wholesale price, Wall Street Journal reported. A spokesman for the UK’s department of energy and climate change said the talks were ongoing. Osborne’s statement did not refer to the EDF project but his announcement was made at the Taishan nuclear power plant in southern China, which is a collaboration between EDF and CGNPG.

Ageing plants

Britain aims to renew ageing nuclear power plants that are going out of service but it needs foreign investment to pay the huge upfront costs involved. Britain’s shrinking power capacity could lead to blackouts during the winter of next year, a report prepared for an advisory body to the prime minister warned on Thursday. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said on Sunday he expected nuclear investments from South Korea as well as China, Japan and France. Last year, Japan’s Hitachi bought a new nuclear joint venture company from Germany’s RWE and E.ON , underlining interest from Asian firms in entering Britain’s nuclear industry. Last month, Britain also signed a cooperation agreement with Russian nuclear conglomerate Rosatom. Britain has shortlisted eight sites that can house new nuclear plants, two of which are owned by Hitachi, one by a joint venture between GDF Suez and Iberdrola and the remainder by EDF. The Westinghouse unit of Japan’s Toshiba is in talks to purchase Iberdrola’s stake. Investment from China would similarly involve Chinese companies buying stakes in projects or partnering with the existing owners. “Investment from Chinese companies in the UK electricity market is welcome, providing they can meet our stringent regulatory and safety requirements,” Energy Secretary Ed Davey said in Thursday’s statement. China has 17 nuclear reactors in operation, accounting for about 1 percent of electricity production capacity. Another 28 nuclear plants are under construction. Osborne is in China on a trade mission that this week saw Britain take a step closer to becoming the main offshore hub for trading in China’s currency and bonds by offering less stringent rules for Chinese banks setting up in London

82 Comments

  1. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP.
    I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform.

    I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a
    way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any help would
    be really appreciated!

  2. Hey would you mind letting me know which web host you’re working with?
    I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
    Can you recommend a good hosting provider at a fair price?
    Cheers, I appreciate it!

  3. Полный пакет чертежей и визуализации — 3D-облет каждой комнаты.

    Брутальный лофт проект Санкт-Петербург — скрытая проводка в металлорукавах.

    Для больших гостиных и кабинетов — мягкое зонирование
    торшерами.

  4. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as long
    as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog?
    My blog site is in the exact same niche as yours and my users would genuinely
    benefit from a lot of the information you provide here.
    Please let me know if this ok with you. Regards!

  5. Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your blog site in Firefox, it looks
    fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, excellent blog!

  6. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was
    wondering what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog
    like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very
    web smart so I’m not 100% sure. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Cheers

  7. Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.

    Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick.
    I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to
    begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks

  8. Hi, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and
    i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments?
    If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can suggest?
    I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any help is very much appreciated.

  9. I like the helpful info you provide for your articles.
    I will bookmark your weblog and check once more here frequently.
    I am slightly sure I’ll learn many new stuff right here!
    Good luck for the following!

  10. I’ve been browsing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It is pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all
    web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  11. You could certainly see your enthusiasm in the article you write.
    The sector hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to
    say how they believe. At all times go after your heart.

  12. Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice whilst you amend your web site, how could i subscribe for a weblog
    website? The account helped me a acceptable deal.
    I were a little bit familiar of this your broadcast provided shiny transparent concept

  13. My whole view of betting changed the day I discovered how sure bets work.

    It felt too good to be true that you could bet without worrying about
    losing. The moment I ran the numbers myself,
    everything suddenly made sense.

    It’s basically using pure math to make the outcome irrelevant.
    The first time I placed two opposite bets, it felt strange, but the results were unreal.

    Watching the match felt different too —
    I knew I couldn’t lose.

    I didn’t expect the profits to add up so quickly.
    Most opportunities give around 1–5% profit, but those small gains stack
    fast. It honestly feels more like investing than gambling.

    The right software totally transforms the experience.

    It highlights matches with perfect opposing odds, and that’s where the magic happens.
    It actually feels like flipping the script
    on bookmakers.

    Looking back, I still can’t believe how simple it actually is.
    Now I just sit back and let the small sure profits add up.
    If you want something steady instead of stressful betting,
    this method is a lifesaver.

  14. My brother suggested I would possibly like this web site. He was once totally
    right. This put up actually made my day.
    You can not believe just how so much time I had spent for this info!
    Thank you!

  15. Please let me know if you’re looking for a
    writer for your weblog. You have some really great posts and I think I would be a good asset.
    If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d
    really like to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.

    Please send me an e-mail if interested. Many thanks!

  16. This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
    I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of
    your magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social
    networks!

  17. I feel that is among the so much significant information for
    me. And i’m satisfied reading your article.
    But want to statement on some common things, The web site taste is great, the articles is in reality nice :
    D. Good task, cheers

  18. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make
    your point. You definitely know what youre talking about,
    why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to
    your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?

  19. Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re
    using? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your design and style
    seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
    P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

  20. Почему пользователи выбирают площадку KRAKEN?

    Маркетплейс KRAKEN заслужил доверие
    многочисленной аудитории благодаря сочетанию ключевых факторов.
    Во-первых, это широкий и разнообразный
    ассортимент, представленный сотнями продавцов.

    Во-вторых, интуитивно понятный интерфейс KRAKEN, который упрощает навигацию, поиск товаров и управление заказами даже для новых
    пользователей. В-третьих, продуманная система безопасных транзакций, включающая
    механизмы разрешения споров (диспутов) и возможность использования условного
    депонирования, что минимизирует риски для обеих сторон сделки.
    На KRAKEN функциональность сочетается
    с внимательным отношением к безопасности клиентов, что делает процесс покупок более предсказуемым, защищенным и, как следствие,
    популярным среди пользователей,
    ценящих анонимность и надежность.

  21. bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar
    bayar bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar
    bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar
    bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar
    bayar bayar bayar bayarbayar bayar bayar bayar bayar bayar

  22. Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off
    the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a formatting
    issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
    The design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon.
    Many thanks

  23. Definitely believe that which you stated.
    Your favorite reason appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that
    they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take
    a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

  24. Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4
    year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed.
    There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She
    never wants to go back! LoL I know this is
    totally off topic but I had to tell someone!

  25. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
    Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
    Plz reply as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to find
    out where u got this from. many thanks

  26. Simply want to say your article is as amazing.
    The clearness in your post is simply excellent and
    i can assume you are an expert on this subject.

    Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep
    updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and
    please keep up the enjoyable work.

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. หวย

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.