The two sites were acquired through EDF Energy’s integration with British Energy Group plc (British Energy) in January 2009.
The sale will allow the company to deliver on a commitment it made to the European Commission as part of the acquisition of British Energy. This is also in line with the policy of the UK Government to have more than one developer of new nuclear power plants in the UK.
“We believe these sites have good potential for new build and will be attractive to potential developers of nuclear power plants,” said Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, managing director for EDF Energy’s Nuclear New Build. “This is an important step towards Government’s objective of competition in new nuclear build in the UK. It goes hand in hand with our own plans to build and operate four EPRs (European pressurised reactors) in the UK with the first operational by the end of 2017 as we seek to help address the country’s long-term energy issues.”
