Toshiba has purchased Iberdrola's stake in new reactors proposed at Sellafield in the UK. Meanwhile, a planning document has suggested that the government is considering a larger number of new units in that country than originally announced.
Currently, Iberdrola and GDF Suez own equal shares in plant developer NuGen. Toshiba, the parent company of Westinghouse, purchased Iberdrola's share for $139 million in a deal that still requires government approval, The Guardian reported Monday.
The British paper also reported that a recent nuclear waste planning document suggested government officials are considering up to 75 gigawatts of new nuclear generation over the next 36 years, compared to the 16 gigawatts envisioned in the country's current nuclear development policy. A report by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management indicated the government considers the 16 gigawatts currently proposed as only the first phase of new nuclear construction in the country. The 75 gigawatt goal had also been suggested in a 2011 energy department report that stated nuclear power could provide 86 percent of the country's electricity by 2050.