France’s EDF eyeing nuclear projects
01 January 2018
French state-controlled utility EDF aims to take part in a tender for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, said a report, citing senior sources.
Saudi Arabia, which wants to reduce its domestic oil consumption, is considering building 17.6 GW of nuclear-fuelled power generation capacity by 2032 and has sent a request for information to international suppliers to build two reactors, reported Reuters.
With responses to the request due by early 2018, a formal tender could be launched by mid-2018, but more likely toward the end of 2018 or early 2019, it stated.
EDF has held talks with Saudi Arabia on selling Areva-designed European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) – the world’s largest reactor model with a capacity of 1,600 MW – but has not publicly confirmed it will bid, said the report, citing the source.
Saudi Arabia’s nuclear plans are some of the largest in an industry struggling with weaker demand following Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Last November, a Saudi nuclear official told a conference in Abu Dhabi that for the first two reactors, the kingdom is considering reactor models in the 1,000-1,600 megawatt (MW) range, said the Reuters report.
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