29 April 2009 18:38
E.ON and RWE joint venture secures Oldbury new nuclear land in NDA auction, commits to further community consultation

Leading energy companies E.ON and RWE have today (WEDS) been confirmed the successful bidders in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) auction for nuclear land at Oldbury power station.

E.ON already owns some land near to the NDA site and, last month, nominated Oldbury into the Government's Strategic Siting Assessment (SSA), which aims to identify locations that could be strategically suitable for new nuclear power stations.

Colin Scoins, Director of Development at E.ON said: "This is great news, but securing the land is simply the first step.

"We have already started talking to local people about our interest in developing a new nuclear plant at Oldbury and are very much looking forward to building on those discussions now we've reached this crucial milestone.

"We firmly believe that the development of new nuclear power stations, alongside cleaner fossil fuels and renewable projects, will be vital if we are to ensure that the UK's homes and businesses have energy that is both as secure and as affordable as possible, while also addressing the very global threat of climate change."

E.ON and RWE formed their joint venture earlier this year to secure sites for new nuclear development in the UK. Between them, the companies have 20 nuclear power stations around the world, including three nuclear plants that are jointly owned by the two companies in Germany. 

The site nomination for Oldbury followed a series of drop-in sessions that gave local people the opportunity to find out more about E.ON and the Government's SSA process.

Full information on the nominated sites can be found at:

http://www.nuclearpowersiting.decc.gov.uk/. Members of the public can also make comments on the sites via this site.

E.ON has also set up a freephone information line (0800 130 3125) and dedicated pages on its website at www.eon-uk.com/oldbury.

Ends

For more information contact:

Emily Highmore on 024 7618 3680 or email emily.highmore@eon-uk.com