CC takes lead on nuclear power joint venture

Clifford Chance (CC) has taken a lead role on the joint venture between RWE npower and E.ON that will see the development of the next generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.

Horizon Nuclear Power, the 50:50 joint venture between Germany's biggest utility companies, is set to create 11,000 jobs in the UK over the next 15 years.

The CC team advising Horizon was led by project finance partner Andrew Grenville alongside planning and environment partner Nigel Howorth, construction partner Tracy London and corporate partner Mark Poulton.

Horizon will build new power stations with 60-year year lifespans, having bought two sites earlier this year following a 30-day online auction set up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The company expects to have its first reactor up and running by around 2020.

The auction in May saw the NDA sell off three sites with French energy giant EDF picking up the other. On that occasion, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised E.ON with real estate partner David Lewis and corporate partner Andrew Hutchings leading the team, while RWE turned to CMS Cameron McKenna, with corporate partner Charles Currier at the helm.

E.ON and RWE have interests in 23 nuclear reactors in Germany and Sweden, including two jointly-owned reactors at Gundremmingen and one at Lingen.

Clifford Chance on the Legal Week Wiki