New nuclear station likely in the Netherlands

14 July 2006

AMSTERDAM — Energy minister Pieter van Geel confirmed on Friday it is looking increasingly likely a new nuclear power station will be built in the Netherlands.
Dutch bank ABN AMRO has signalled its willingness to invest in an ultra-modern station.

The bank’s CEO Rijkman Groenink has approached Van Geel about the matter, newspaper ‘De Telegraaf’ reported. Power company Delta has also expressed interest.

“There is a real chance that a new nuclear station will be operational in our country in 2016,” Van Geel said. The junior minister at the Environment Ministry visited a nuclear power station on Friday that is under construction in Finland.

It will cost EUR 3 billion to build and will produce 1,680 megawatts of electricity a year. By contrast, Borssele, the only Dutch nuclear power station, provides 480 megawatts of electricity annually, enough for one million households.

The Dutch government recently decided to extend Borssele’s operational life to 2033, 20 years beyond its initial decommission date of 2013. Delta, one of the owners of the Borssele station in Zeeland Province, sees the area as the logical location for a second nuclear power plant.

Van Geel will publish a document after the summer outlining the conditions a new station will have to meet.

Subject: Dutch news