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Hitachi buys UK nuclear project from E.ON and RWE Hitachi buys UK nuclear project from E.ON and RWE
(35 minutes later)
Hitachi, Japan's largest industrial electronics maker, is to buy the UK's nuclear project Horizon. The UK's nuclear expansion plans have been boosted after Japan's Hitachi signed a £700m deal to start building a new generation of power plants.
Horizon, which will build new reactors at Wylfa, Angelsey, and Oldbury, South Gloucestershire, is being sold by German-owned E.ON and RWE. Hitachi is to buy Horizon Nuclear Power, which intends to build reactors on existing sites at Wylfa, Anglesey, and Oldbury, in Gloucestershire.
Babcock International and Rolls-Royce have signed preliminary contracts to join the Hitachi plan. Hitachi is buying Horizon from Germany's E.On and RWE, which are withdrawing from the UK nuclear market.
Hitachi said the deal to build 6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity should be completed by the end of November. Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a major step for the UK.
Hitachi did not disclose the value of the deal. "This is a decades-long, multi-billion pound vote of confidence in the UK, that will contribute vital new infrastructure to power our economy.
The Hitachi Horizon programme involves building two to three plants on the existing sites, with the first unit becoming operational in the first half of the 2020s. "It will support up to 12,000 jobs during construction and thousands more permanent highly skilled roles once the new power plants are operational, as well as stimulating exciting new industrial investments in the UK's nuclear supply chain. I warmly welcome Hitachi as a major new player in the UK energy sector," he said.
Hitachi said in a statement that it anticipates the creation of between 5,000 and 6,000 direct jobs at each site during the construction phase, with a further 1,000 permanent jobs per site upon start of the operation of each site. UK engineering companies Babcock International and Rolls-Royce have signed preliminary contracts to join the Hitachi deal, which the Japanese company said should be completed by the end of November.
Hitachi intends to build 6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, with the first plant becoming operational in the first half of the next decade.
Up to 6,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction at each site, thousands more in the supply chain, and a further 1,000 permanent jobs at both locations once operational.
The Horizon venture, which currently employs around 90 people, was set up in 2009 as part of the drive to meet the UK's carbon reduction goals and secure energy demand as old power plants are decommissioned.
'Milestone'
But RWE and E.On put the business up for sale in March after Germany's move to abandon nuclear power in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster.
A consortium made up of EDF and British Gas-owner Centrica has maintained its interest but the two companies have still to decide whether to build two reactors at Hinckley Point, Somerset.
Hitachi facilities will use its advanced boiling water technology, which is already in used in four reactors in Japan.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "Hitachi bring with them decades of expertise, and are responsible for building some of the most advanced nuclear reactors on time and on budget, so I welcome their commitment to helping build a low- carbon, secure-energy future for the UK."
Unions also welcomed Hitachi's move, with Mike Clancy, general secretary designate of Prospect, saying: "The Horizon venture is an important milestone in securing future low-carbon energy generation capacity within the UK and its importance to local and national economies cannot be overstated.
"While Hitachi's advanced boiling water reactor design has yet to undergo the UK's generic design assessment approval process, it is a proven technology and therefore any construction in the UK will benefit from lessons learned from its construction in Japan."