UK lose out to US in £10bn nuclear project

UK Nuclear Power

The UK's nuclear power plans have taken a huge hit as nuclear firm Westinghouse look set to appoint US-based Shaw Group to lead the construction programme of its GBP£10 billion nuclear programme.

The thousands of jobs that would have been created had the project to build the next generation of nuclear power plants stayed in Britain, will now be lost overseas. Westinghouse, the nuclear company sold by the government three years ago to Toshiba, chose one of its largest shareholders as the lead contractor to build reactors.

The Guardian newspaper reported that industry sources said that Shaw is likely to source far more reactor components from overseas than rival company Fluor, which has close relationships with British manufacturers. The Unite union claimed that 10,000 new jobs in the UK would not be created as a result of Shaw being selected.

Further contracts could be lost to bases in the US and Belgium

But this might not be the end of Britain's nuclear woes, as the UK-based manufacturers BAE Systems and Rolls Royce have expressed concerns over further lucrative contracts being lost to Shaw's manufacturing bases in the US and Belgium.

Despite Shaw joining forces with Laing O'Rourke for the bid the British construction firm will not be involved in providing any of the high-spec reactor components, 80 percent of which may be sourced from the UK, according to a Westinghouse spokesman. But this remains unofficial until any contracts are signed.

Japanese firm Toshiba owns 77 percent of Westinghouse, with 20 percent owned by Shaw Group. Westinghouse is hoping to secure contracts to build at least four of its AP1000 reactors with E.ON and RWE npower, who have formed a nuclear joint venture in the UK, soon after Christmas, so says the Guardian.

"Shaw has no allegiance to the UK"

Unite's national energy officer, said: "The implications are massive. With Fluor, there is a far greater opportunity to get UK companies involved.

"Shaw has no allegiance to the UK and it's wrong that a company with an equity share should be involved in the competition."

Shaw and Westinghouse have plans afoot to construct new reactors in the Middle East and US, but Westinghouse have insisted they intend on using British labour "as much as possible".

Rival French reactor firm Areva is building the rest of the UK's reactors, on behalf of EDF Energy, and has only promised to allow British firms to bid for up to 70 percent of the supply contracts.

The UK's low-carbon industrial strategy is aimed at enabling British manufacturers and workers to benefit from the country's huge construction programme of less polluting power plants such as wind farms and nuclear reactors. But so far British manufacturers in the power sector have are yet to benefit, and if this continues the government will struggle to find support for its energy vision.

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