EDF
The £4bn sale of French power giant EDF’s electricity distribution network has been put back on track with first-round bids expected by the middle of March. Four buyers are understood to be interested in putting in first-round bids for the asset. A consortium including Australian infrastructure group Macquarie, the Canadian Pension Plan and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADIA, thought to be advised by Goldman Sachs, is understood to be working on a joint £4bn bid. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), which has teamed up with Borealis, another Canadian pension fund, is also keen to bid. Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI) – the infrastructure investor controlled by Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man – is thought to have hired Royal Bank of Scotland to advise on a possible takeover of the electricity distribution network. National Grid is also thought to be interested in bidding for the business.
Telegraph 28th Feb 2010 more >>
Japan
Japan’s Tohoku Electric Power said on Sunday its Onagawa and Higashidori nuclear power plants on the northern Pacific coast have been operating normally after tsunami waves hit the region in the wake of a massive earthquake in Chile. There was no damage to the plants in northern Japan after waves of around half a metre (22 inches) hit Higashidori in Aomori prefecture and Onagawa in Miyagi prefecture, a company spokesman said. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)
Reuters 28th Feb 2010 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
President Barack Obama has ordered the rewriting of the draft new US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), amid frustration in the White House that the document fails to reflect his aspirations for a nuclear-weapons-free world and an end to “cold war thinking”. The review, drawn up by each administration, sets the doctrine justifying both the retention of nuclear weapons and the circumstances in which they might be used. It also determines more practical issues, including nuclear force readiness, targeting and war planning.
Observer 28th Feb 2010 more >>
Submarines
THE captain of a £1.2billion nuclear submarine being tested in Scotland has defended the vessel amid claims serious flaws were exposed. Insiders at the Navy’s Faslane base, near Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, say the Astute sub’s trials offthe west coast of Scotland have been plagued by technical faults. One said: “There have been problems with Astute. Every time engineers think they have solved one problem, another crops up.
Sunday Mail 28th Feb 2010 more >>
