PowerSwitch

Bloomberg - 26/02/08

The U.K. secretary of state for business, John Hutton, will meet with U.S. energy companies in the next two days to discuss their potential involvement in new British nuclear reactors.

Hutton's planning to meet with unspecified U.S. energy companies during a trip to Washington, D.C., the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform said in an e-mailed statement. He will sign an agreement to join the 21-member Global Nuclear Energy Partnership while there, the department said.

The U.K. government has invited proposals for new nuclear reactors to replace older power plants without increasing emissions of carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, the reactor-building venture of General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd. is one of four builders seeking approval for the design of its plant in the U.K.