Energy firm applies to build nuclear plant

Energy firm Delta is to apply for a licence to build a new nuclear power plant in the western province of Zeeland, says the company’s CEO Peter Boerma in an interview with Wednesday’s Financieele Dagblad.


Delta wants to build two to four new nuclear power stations next to the country’s only existing nuclear power generator at Borssele which it co-owns with Essent.
The move follows a call by Christian Democrat (CDA) parliamentary leader Pieter van Geel to energy firms to submit building plans to the government. Van Geel said a new nuclear power plant in the Netherlands is ‘inevitable’.
Boerma tells the paper that his company is ready to ‘take up the gauntlet’.
The step by Delta puts the cabinet in an awkward position because the coalition agreement rules out a decision on new nuclear power plants before 2011.
Investment
Boerma expects the application procedure for the new power plant to take a maximum of three and a half years. He estimates the investment for each new plant will be between €3bn and €5bn.
Seeking to allay fears about radioactive waste, Boerma says that the Borssele plant recycles 96% of its waste and that the remaining 4% is transported for storage by the government owned body Covra. After a cooling down period of 100 years it will be buried underground.
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