April 10, 2007
TXU looks to nuclear expansion
Texas could be the centre of the nuclear power revival in the US, according to today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Energy group TXU, currently the subject of a $45bn takeover bid by private equity group KKR, is planning to build up to five new nuclear reactors in the state, says the paper, with the first reactor on line by 2015. Interestingly, TXU is set to buy its reactor technology from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan rather than market leaders GE and Westinghouse. Mitsubishi’s reactor design has yet to be certified for use in the US, unlike reactors from GE and Westinghouse, which is now owned by a consortium led by Toshiba of Japan.
