French power giant GDF Suez warned Monday that it needs more “incentives” to build a nuclear power station at Sellafield.
Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of GDF, said he wanted talks with the government about the right fixed or minimum price for producing nuclear energy.
"We are, with our partners, going to make a decision in 2015 (on building a new plant at Sellafield). Today it is very difficult to invest in a nuclear power plant without clear visibility," he said.
The words came as GDF spent £6.8billion (nearly $11 billion) to take full control of UK's International Power (IP), which leaves the French company better placed to win contracts in fast-growing emerging markets.
After RWE and E.ON abandoned its joint venture Horizon project last month, GDF stated that its own joint venture with Iberdrola of Spain called NuGen remained "committed" to its planned 3.6 gigawatt plant at Sellafield.
Also Monday, GDF announced that it will unveil its nuclear strategy plans by mid-year.
GDF wants to wait on a key decision from the Belgian government that would potentially extend the reactors lifespan, Mestrallet said. The time frame would also give GDF a chance to integrate into its strategy the outcome of the French presidential election.
French Socialist candidate Francois Hollande – who's currently leading the polls to take over from right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy – plans to gradually lower the share of nuclear in France's energy mix, while Sarkozy's government has reaffirmed its pro-nuclear stance following Fukushima.