Bloomberg has reported that e.on and RWE are to sell their joint holding in Horizon Nuclear Power to Japan's Hitachi for £600 million. While the deal could be completed in days, the licensing of Hitachi's reactor design could take up to 4 years.
EdF has already started preliminary work for construction at Hinkley Point so the future for UK nuclear is beginning to look a little more positive. It will be too little to have any significant impact on global carbon dioxide emissions but at least there's a chance that the lights won't go out in the UK in 2025.
More importantly for Thornbury, there is now the prospect of a significant boost to the local economy during construction and later in operation.
Thornbury Gazette will no doubt be overwhelmed by protests from the anti-nuclear lobby as soon as the news is announced. It's a pity that it has to be a design that is not yet licensed in the UK but better that than nothing.
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