US Nuclear Giant Westinghouse has withdrawn from the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design competition of the UK.
The four companies that stayed in the competition received a deadline of mid -April to release their last bids, but the Telegraph understands that Westinghouse has not submitted one after a negotiation process.
It means that there are only three finalists in the running: Rolls-Royce, Gehitachi and Holtec.
Great British Nuclear (GBN), the Quango responsible for the SMR program, was expected to announce two winners this summer with bidders who had to prepare to build three to four mini reactors each.
Westinghouse did not deny that it had withdrawn on Friday, but refused to give his reasons.
One branch source suggested that the company had brought to the commercial supply of the government.
GBN advertised previously advertised contracts worth £ 20 billion in total for SMR “Technology Partners”, a figure that is supposed to be based on the assumption that two winners would be chosen.
Rolls-Royce is one of three companies who want to protect a government contract to build an SMR-Rolls-Royce
De Telegraaf, however, revealed in February that the government is considering a contract to only one company, because Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, wants to save in its overview -spending expenditure review.
The Chancellor is struggling to balance the books, because weak economic growth makes it more difficult to pay its self -imposed “tax rules” to borrow.
SMR supporters claim that they could be a breakthrough in nuclear energy because they would mainly be made in factories and then to be assembled on the spot, so that the construction times of about a decade to a few years are shortened. In theory, this could reduce costs-if buildings of SMRs had been repeatedly promised.
Many politicians have picked up that bait. When he opened the final phase of the SMR competition, Mr. Miliband said: “Small modular reactors will support our mission to become a super power of clean energy.”
However, the nuclear industry has a mixed record about the application of important projects on time and with budget.
The biggest current example is the British Hinkley Point C -power plant in Somerset, of which EDF originally said it would cost less than £ 20 billion and now work. The current cost estimates are for a final price that is approaching £ 50 billion and a start-up after 2030.
There are growing fears that the economy of SMRs can prove to justify even more difficult – because they have many of the same problems as large reactors – which means that security and waste removal – but produce much less electricity and therefore earn less money.
On Friday, a GBN spokesperson refused to respond to the position of Westinghouse, just like Westinghouse itself. The UK Energy Department was asked for comments.
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