UK nuclear firm says reactors can last longer

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) The lives of Britain's nuclear power stations must be extended where possible to meet the country's needs for CO2-free power, the chief executive of British Energy said today.

''I think it's imperative that we maximise the stations we have,'' Bill Coley told Reuters on the sidelines of the Unite Nuclear New Build conference in London.

''I'm talking about extending their lives -- not just British Energy's stations, but all the stations in the UK.'' He said no final decision had been made about extending the lives of British Energy's stations at Hunterston in Scotland and Hinkley Point in southwest England, but a conclusion would be reached by the end of next March.

''I see nothing that tells me it is not possible, but we're not finished with the study yet,'' Coley added. ''Safety is not the issue. The issue is technical and economic.'' Britain indicated in last month's energy review it was open to industry building new nuclear power stations, and it would smooth the regulatory and planning pathway for them.

A judicial review could give the final go-ahead later this year.

In preparation, the government started a consultation yesterday on how it should choose a site to house spent nuclear fuel in the future.

The conference earlier heard that any new nuclear power stations would create thousands of jobs during the construction phase.

''But I'm concerned in the UK, and the US, we're not attracting enough bright young people into engineering sciences,'' said Coley, warning of a possible skill shortage.

Nuclear constructor Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), which sponsored the event, said around 70 per cent of the components for any new nuclear power station could be supplied by UK companies.

AECL's vice president of projects Ron Cullen said a nuclear project would typically create 8,000 to 10,000 jobs during construction.

REUTERS GL RN2332