UK nuclear plans left in tatters after collapse of EDF deal; Fierce row breaks out

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http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/nuclear/bid-for-britains-nuclear-power-stations-goes-piff-paff-poof-20080801

Bid for Britain's nuclear power stations goes piff paff poof
Posted by jamie on 1 August 2008.

It's usually poor form to laugh at another's misfortunes, but in this case I feel a slight chortle is more than justified. EDF's bid to takeover British Energy - the semi-state owned company charged with looking after the UK's nuclear power stations - has been kicked out, throwing a spanner of cosmic proportions into our government's plans for a new atomic age. Oops, butterfingers.

The French state-owned power company was expected to announce this morning that the ink was drying on the deal, worth over £12 billion, but early this morning it released a statement saying it was pulling out. Although the government was apparently more than happy to accept the offer on the table, it only owns 35 per cent of British Energy, some other stakeholders were not so keen. Given the ongoing hikes in energy prices, they think their assets are worth far more and so thumbed a collective raspberry at EDF's bid.

So why is there reason to be cheerful? If the deal had gone ahead, it would have dealt a hammer blow to our chances of meeting the legally binding Renewables Obligations, which must see at least 15 per cent of our total energy coming from renewables by 2020. Why? Because EDF have gone on record saying that if there is significant growth in renewable energy, the case for nuclear falls apart.

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This is really just a shameful attempt to scare everyone into accepting nuclear power. A new report by clever energy people Pöyry demonstrates that if the government actually does fulfil its commitments to meet EU renewable energy targets (and doesn't keep trying to stitch them up again and again) and its own ambitions to increase energy efficiency and reduce demand, then we won't need any more nuclear power stations. Or any new coal or gas ones, either. And that's true even by the government's own reckoning. So a little less scaremongering from the likes of Hutton and from a media that really should know better wouldn't go amiss. Instead, I'd like to see a bit more effort put into delivering the real energy solutions which will help us beat climate change.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-nuclear-plans-left-in-tatters-after-collapse-of-edf-deal-883357.html

UK nuclear plans left in tatters after collapse of EDF deal
By David Prosser, Deputy Business Editor
Saturday, 2 August 2008

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Energy strategists said the failure of the takeover raised serious question-marks about Britain's nuclear future. The collapse of the deal is a major blow for the Government, which holds a 35 per cent stake in British Energy.

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The British company nevertheless hopes EDF will return to the negotiating table because a deal offers a much more straightforward way for the French company to fulfil its promise to shareholders of international expansion in the nuclear sector.

The UK is the only realistic market for this expansion and British Energy not only owns the most likely sites for the second generation of plants but also has experience of running nuclear plants in this country.

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EDF's executives are privately furious about the collapse of the deal, having arranged press conferences yesterday to unveil the takeover. The French company is understood to have believed Sir Adrian had given it a personal assurance that his board would recommend its offer to shareholders. But British Energy executives insist no such promise was made, arguing that the deal was always going to be a difficult one to sell to investors.

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75737216-602c-11dd-805e-000077b07658.html

Fierce row breaks out over failed EDF bid

By Rebecca Bream, Kate Burgess and Jean Eaglesham in,London and Ben Hall in Paris

Published: August 2 2008 03:00 | Last updated: August 2 2008 03:00

A fierce row broke out between two of the biggest energy companies in France and Britain yesterday after EDF's planned £12bn bid for British Energy was rejected at the last minute because shareholders said that it was too low.

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"Calling a press conference was stupid. They knew the issue was there," the person said.

One EDF board member said yesterday that his group thought that the UK government's support for the deal would help persuade the rebellious fund managers. "The French are used to a much more interventionist state. When the state says yes or no, the others follow," the board member said.

The collapse of the deal caught the UK government unawares. John Hutton, the business secretary, had been poised to hail the EDF acquisition today as a significant step in delivering Gordon Brown's pledge of a new generation of nuclear reactors.

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