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Greenpeace is threatening to take legal action against E.ON and other nuclear power companies for rushing ahead with plans to build new reactors before they have got the proper consents. The move has been triggered by reports that preparatory bore holes for new reactors will start to be drilled for E.ON on 3 August at Oldbury in Gloucestershire. EDF is said to be considering similar work. A Greenpeace spokesman said its lawyers were reviewing a situation which made a mockery of a whole raft of hurdles that were meant to be overcome before the government starts official licensing in 2013.

EDF is leading the drive to build the next generation of nuclear reactors in Britain According to a report by The Times Online, EDF, the heavily indebted French power group, is close to agreeing a big asset swap with E.ON, its German rival, but it played down reports recently that it was also considering the sale of a 20 percent stake in British Energy, the UK's nuclear generator. EDF, which is leading the drive to build the next generation of nuclear reactors in Britain, has begun a sweeping review of its businesses as it aims to cut its €37 billion (£33.5 billion) debt pile. In May, EDF sold a 20 per cent stake in British Energy, which it bought only a year ago, to Centrica, the British Gas owner, for €2.5 billion. Officials have denied a report in La Tribune that EDF was considering selling a further 20 percent stake in the company to help to fund its plans to build four nuclear reactors in Britain by 2025 however, they did not rule out the possibility.

"Centrica and E.ON lobby Liberal Democrat energy secretary to commit government to £30bn nuclear newbuild programme Leaders of the nuclear industry have sought urgent meetings with the new energy secretary, Chris Huhne, amid concern that he will not provide the support needed for their £30bn investment programme in a new generation of reactors. Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, and Paul Golby, head of E.ON UK, have scheduled talks in the coming days with Huhne, who has strongly indicated that his primary focus is renewable power."

The Government has vastly underestimated the cost of building a new generation of nuclear power plants, according to the head of the world's largest power company. Wulf Bernotat, chairman and chief executive of E.ON, the German energy giant that owns Powergen, has told The Times that the cost per plant could be as high as €6 billion (£4.8 billion) - nearly double the Government's latest £2.8 billion estimate. His figures indicate that the cost of replacing Britain's ten nuclear power stations could reach £48 billion, excluding the cost of decommissioning ageing reactors or dealing with nuclear waste. "We are talking easily about €5 billion to €6 billion [each]," Dr Bernotat said.

In 2003, the nuclear industry was very nearly killed off in Britain. In 2009, it is so resurgent that captains of the energy industry are arguing it is renewables that should be killed off, or at least kept on a starvation diet. Today, the Confederation of British Industry has thrown its weight behind the nuclear industry's calls for the government to scale back "overambitious" wind power targets in favour of atomic energy. Two foreign-owned energy giants, E.ON and EDF, have recently told the government it must essentially choose between new nuclear and major renewables developments. With global warming, energy security and fuel poverty all rendering energy policy a matter of life and death today, in their own ways, this new polarisation in the nuclear debate is a desperately dangerous development.

Sarkozy reiterates France's commitment to nuclear * E.ON reiterates interested in expanding in France * Says taking stake in Penly EPR is an "interesting option" * Enel still interested in Penly EPR PARIS, Dec 14 - France pledged 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to support next generation reactor design and said it would seek foreign capital to back its move to the forefront of nuclear energy expansion. The investment is part of a 35 billion-euro spending plan French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy unveiled on Monday aimed at improving France's competitiveness. The new nuclear projects, dubbed fourth generation reactors, would recycle uranium and plutonium, creating less waste, he told a press conference.

Sarkozy reiterates France's commitment to nuclear * E.ON reiterates interested in expanding in France * Says taking stake in Penly EPR is an "interesting option" * Enel still interested in Penly EPR PARIS, Dec 14 - France pledged 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to support next generation reactor design and said it would seek foreign capital to back its move to the forefront of nuclear energy expansion. The investment is part of a 35 billion-euro spending plan French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy unveiled on Monday aimed at improving France's competitiveness. The new nuclear projects, dubbed fourth generation reactors, would recycle uranium and plutonium, creating less waste, he told a press conference.

To judge from the bounce in German energy companies' share prices, you might think Sunday's centre-right election victory means it's springtime for nuclear power in Germany. The reality is more likely to be a longer atomic autumn before ageing reactors are laid to rest. Both the conservatives and the liberal Free Democrats want to prolong the lifetime of Germany's 17 existing nuclear plants, but not build new ones. That will still be lucrative for utilities such as RWE (RWEG.DE), E.ON (EONGn.DE>, Vattenfall [VATN.UL] and EnBW (EBKG.DE), which face an uncertain future as Europe switches to a greener energy mix and EU regulators force them to divest their grids and pipelines.

To judge from the bounce in German energy companies' share prices, you might think Sunday's centre-right election victory means it's springtime for nuclear power in Germany. The reality is more likely to be a longer atomic autumn before ageing reactors are laid to rest. Both the conservatives and the liberal Free Democrats want to prolong the lifetime of Germany's 17 existing nuclear plants, but not build new ones. That will still be lucrative for utilities such as RWE (RWEG.DE), E.ON (EONGn.DE>, Vattenfall [VATN.UL] and EnBW (EBKG.DE), which face an uncertain future as Europe switches to a greener energy mix and EU regulators force them to divest their grids and pipelines.

A multinational consortium of energy companies is paying £70m for land adjacent to Sellafield suitable for building a new atomic power station. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez have acquired the 470-acre site, which is the fourth piece of land to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The consortium plans to build an installation with a capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts, starting in 2015. The SSE/Iberdrola/GDF group is the third new entrant to the UK nuclear industry after France's EDF bought British Energy for £12.5bn in January, and a consortium of Germany's RWE Npower and E.ON was successful in earlier NDA land auctions in April. SSE/Iberdrola/GDF was also a bidder in previous auctions for land at Wylfa, Oldbury and Bradwell. But the group pulled out after competition became so fierce it ran for six weeks rather than the expected one, and netted the Government a whopping £387m rather than the expected £100m.

A multinational consortium of energy companies is paying £70m for land adjacent to Sellafield suitable for building a new atomic power station. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez have acquired the 470-acre site, which is the fourth piece of land to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The consortium plans to build an installation with a capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts, starting in 2015. The SSE/Iberdrola/GDF group is the third new entrant to the UK nuclear industry after France's EDF bought British Energy for £12.5bn in January, and a consortium of Germany's RWE Npower and E.ON was successful in earlier NDA land auctions in April. SSE/Iberdrola/GDF was also a bidder in previous auctions for land at Wylfa, Oldbury and Bradwell. But the group pulled out after competition became so fierce it ran for six weeks rather than the expected one, and netted the Government a whopping £387m rather than the expected £100m.

"* Nuclear producers say might study legal ways to fight tax * Eye energy plan in August for new line on life extensions German utilities said on Thursday they might sue the government over a planned tax on nuclear power production after a meeting in Berlin on Wednesday failed to appease them. "We will look into possible legal steps if the tax is imposed without any compensation," a spokesman for E.ON (EONGn.DE) said. A spokesman for RWE (RWEG.DE) said it would consider legal steps, once the tax plan became more concrete, not least because stock market regulations would oblige the company to do so. "But, currently, it does not make sense to issue threats as the plans have not been spelled out in detail," he said."

"Germany's government has proposed a new nuclear fuel tax as part of a wider austerity package, without linking this explicitly to the expected extension of nuclear run-times. According to a statement posted on the government's website, extra profits generated by nuclear plant operators in the wake of higher power prices because of extra CO2 certificates justifies the next tax, which also will contribute to financing nuclear waste storage solutions. From 2011, the government expects Eur2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) a year until 2014 from nuclear plant operators through the planned new measures. E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall Europe, which run Germany's 17 operational reactors, are hoping their plants' life spans will be extended beyond the start of the next decade, when nuclear power should be phased out, according to a still valid law. "

Increased use of nuclear (an outright competitor to coal as a deliverer of baseload power) is essential to combat climate change The location for this year's Camp for Climate Action - outside the Kingsnorth power station in Kent - was well chosen: it is here that E.ON wants to build the first new coal-fired plant in the UK in nearly 30 years. With coal the most global-warming-intensive fuel on the market, and six more coal plants in the pipeline if Kingsnorth gets the go-ahead, there is a clear line to be drawn in the sand.

Two men suspected of attempting to sabotage a nuclear plant in southern Sweden have been arrested, police said. Both men were stopped at the entrance to the nuclear plant after traces of explosives were found on a bag. The Oskarshamn plant - owned by German energy giant E.On - has been sealed, the company said.

Angela Seidler, a 41-year-old tour guide at E.ON AG's Grafenrheinfeld nuclear-power plant in southern Germany, may have to find a new career before she retires. "There are about six years of work" until the plant reaches a government-mandated production limit, Seidler said. After that, she said, "it's over for Grafenrheinfeld" -- unless voters grant a reprieve in Sept. 27 elections. Seidler works at one of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, which require an extension to operate beyond deadlines imposed in 2002 by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Social Democratic predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder. They won't get it unless Merkel, who wants to keep them open, wins the majority she needs to ditch her current coalition with the Social Democrats.

PEOPLE living near a site earmarked for a new nuclear power station claim they are being kept in the dark over the proposals. At a public meeting, more than 40 residents of Shepperdine and Oldbury criticised energy company E.ON for not keeping them informed about its plans to build a new power station in their village. During the last 12 months the energy giant has bought land in the Oldbury and Shepperdine area and secured a connection to the National Grid.

Reports say Iberdrola consortium has bowed out as government set to net £400m from nuclear land auction The British government could make over £400m in the auction of land to build nuclear power stations, as prices skyrocketed on Tuesday forcing out one of the three dominant bidders, the Financial Times has reported. French firm EDF and the German partnership of RWE and E.ON were left to battle it out alone after the consortium of Spain's Iberdrola, France's GDF Suez and the UK's Scottish & Southern Energy pulled out of the race.

"MORE than 100 people took to the streets of Thornbury last week to protest against plans for a new nuclear power station. Local people were armed with placards with slogans such as Don't Blight our Horizon, Save the Severn Vale and No 2 Nuclear. The group, which included residents, parents, young children, teenagers and older people, walked from Thornbury Town Hall to the Cossham Hall chanting "What do we want? E.ON out. DECC see the light." "

"- E.ON AG and RWE AG, Germany's largest utilities, may not get to run their nuclear plants past scheduled shutdown dates after Chancellor Angela Merkel's party lost control of parliament's upper house in a state election. The pro-nuclear leader of the Christian Democrats, punished by voters yesterday for her reversal on aid for Greece, may lose their hold on power in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state. The party's worst result since World War II robs Merkel of a majority in the upper chamber in Berlin, limiting her ability to extend the lifespan of nuclear-power plants. Germany, the European Union's largest power user, plans to scrap a decade-old law that would have forced the shutdown of its nuclear reactors by about 2020. Merkel favors extended use of the plants to meet energy demand and cut output of gases blamed for global warming. An extension would bolster earnings for utilities with nuclear stations and forego spending on replacement plants. "

"New nuclear power plants will be built in the U.K. if utilities pay for them, said Chris Huhne, who was named yesterday as climate change secretary in a coalition government divided on the merits of atomic reactors. Companies including E.ON AG, Electricite de France SA and Centrica Plc want to replace aging reactors in the U.K. as pressure grows to reduce emissions from fossil fuels. Huhne's Liberal Democrats opposed atomic power while the Conservatives, their coalition partner, supported it. The parties yesterday said the Liberals will abstain on nuclear votes. "If they come up with a plan which genuinely involves no public subsidy, and that's the agreement of the coalition, then they'll put it through the new national planning process, and the proposal will go forward," Huhne said in an interview on British Broadcasting Corp. radio's "Today" program. "We're committed in the Liberal Democrats to not vote against it." "

"Members of Parliament of the Green League and other MPs who take a sceptical view of nuclear energy are urging Fennovoima, which hopes to build one of two new nuclear reactors endorsed by the government, to report on how it plans to dispose of its nuclear waste. Fennovoima, which is owned jointly by the German E.On and a number of Finnish companies, had not yet revealed any waste disposal plans when it applied for a licence to build a new nuclear reactor. Parliament resumed debate on the nuclear issue on Tuesday, after it had been interrupted by the discussion of the Greek economic crisis. "