A world leader in nuclear technology is one of five multi-nationals bidding to build a €300 million power link between Ireland and Britain. Barry O'Halloranreports.
National electricity grid operator Eirgrid is beginning talks with five global engineering groups seeking to build the electricity interconnector between the Leinster and Welsh coasts.
The cable will carry 500 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to a medium-sized power plant. Its cost has been estimated at between €250 million and €300 million.
One of the bidders is a subsidiary of French giant, Areva, which is a world leader in nuclear power generation technology. It is one of the few companies in the world that provides services and products covering everything from mining nuclear fuel, through power generation and recycling the waste produced.
The actual bidder for the Irish project is understood to be UK- based Areva T&D transmission and distribution], which is not itself involved in nuclear power.
France is one of Europe's biggest users of nuclear power. Areva is one of a number of French companies that specialise in this technology. Last year it had revenues of €10.8 billion and net income of €672 million.
As the number of power connections between Ireland and Britain increases, so does the likelihood that some of the electricity supplied here will be generated from nuclear power.
Earlier this year, it emerged that about 0.02 per cent of the Republic's electricity needs come from nuclear sources via a cable linking the Antrim coast with Scotland.
Under legislation passed in 1999, it is illegal to build a nuclear power generator in the Republic. The law does not ban importing nuclear-generated electricity. The Greens, party of Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, were responsible for the provision.
Switzerland-based ABB is another bidder. The company recently won a $440 million contract from the Chinese national grid operator to build and install the world's longest power cable.
The 2,000-km link will connect Sichuan and Shanghai and run through a major industrial zone. ABB had $24.4 billion in revenues last year and profits of $1.4 billion.
German group Siemens is the best known of the five. One of the world's biggest engineering groups, it has a long involvement with the Republic and was the main contractor on the State's first major electricity generating project, the Shannon scheme.
French cabling specialist Nexan is another company on the list. It had sales of €7.5 billion last year and earnings of €241 million.
Another cabling company, Italian group Prysmian, is also in the running. In 2006, it had sales of €5 billion and profits of €91 million.
