 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bulgaria seeking new investors for nuclear plant: report
Sofia (AFP) Oct 30, 2009 Bulgaria is seeking new investors for its nuclear plant project in Belene following the withdrawal of German utility RWE, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said in an interview Friday. "We will invite new investors via an international tender. We have already discussed the possible participation of French, Italian and Russian companies in it," Traikov told the daily 24 Hours. "The plant will be built if there are investors," he said, while suggesting that Belene was not "vital" for Bulgaria's energy mix. RWE, which held 49 percent in the Belene project, said Wednesday it was pulling out of a joint venture agreement with state-owned National Electricity Company (NEK), the owner of the other 51 percent. The German group cited the economic crisis, lack of funding for the project and no definitive agreement with Russia's Atomstroyexport, which is to build the 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant. Traikov said that RWE's two main conditions for joining the project -- to have the necessary funding secured and a contract with the constructor signed by July 31 -- had not been met in time. "Now, despite the three-month extension of the deadline obtained by the new government, we have neither the 5.0 billion euros (7.4 billion dollars) for the construction nor a contract with Atomstroyexport," Traikov said. Initially, the cost of building the plant was estimated at 4.0 billion euros but that did not take into account infrastructure costs and loan interest payments. "In all, Belene would cost over 10 billion euros," the minister said. Bulgaria would now have to start all over again to find the funding, the investors and re-start talks with Atomstroyexport. For its part, the Russian group said Thursday that work on Belene was continuing according to plan. Media reports have speculated that the government could freeze the project until it finds new investors within the next 18 months, or shelve it completely. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
France questions US nuclear energy deal: reportParis (AFP) Oct 30, 2009 The French government is raising doubts about the purchase of half of US nuclear energy company Constellation by state-controlled French operator EDF, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Citing government officials, the newspaper said that the government was keen for EDF to invest more in Europe as regulatory difficulties in the United States delay the 4.5-billion-dollar (3.0-billion-eur ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook