Iberdrola, the Spanish company that owns energy supplier ScottishPower, is expected to put in a bid to develop land next to Sellafield in West Cumbria.
The land itself is not thought to be selling for less than £100 million and whichever company makes the successful bid may choose to invest around £4 billion in a new reactor, which would contribute to nuclear redevelopment in Britain, reports the Times.
Potential plans for the site have drawn controversy as Sellafield is the most polluted piece of land in Europe, which could affect its suitability for use in renewed nuclear generation.
An unnamed industry insider told the paper: "It is a very complex site. It is not necessarily the simplest place to build a new power station."
The job of decommissioning buildings at Sellafield that have been contaminated with nuclear waste still employs around 10,000 people and there may not be considerable interest at the auction.
French-owned energy company EDF is leading nuclear redevelopment for the British government.
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