UK Nuclear Overhaul May Be Delayed

The Home and Safety Executive, the U.K.’s nuclear regulator, warned that it may not approve licensing of nuclear reactors from Areva NP and Westinghouse next year due to several outstanding issues, and this could delay construction.

EDF Energy plans to build four Areva reactors in the UK and has said it would submit the planning application for the first one at Hinkley Point in Somerset this winter. EDF has begun preparing the Hinkley site and scheduled the start of construction for next summer.

Horizon Nuclear Power, a joint venture between two German utilities, E.ON and RWE AG, has said it will choose between Areva's European Pressurized Reactors and Westinghouse's AP1000 reactors for a Wylfa, Wales, site by the end of this year.