Bill Coley

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Bill Coley is an American who was born in North Carolina. He spent 37 years in a company called Duke Power before being headhunted as a non-executive director of British Energy in 2003. He was then dubbed "The Duke of Hazard" by one magazine.

He replaced British Energy's then CEO Mike Alexander in March 2005. In an interview in the UK's Daily Mail in February 2006, Coley argued that the only way the government could meet its climate change objectives is through nuclear power. He also said that he would not be lobbbying government to build new reactors, but British Energy, and Coley would be ready to exploit any pro-nuclear decision. Coley said he believed that nuclear technology is "crucially important to the standard of living and economic development of the world".

Coley stepped down as chief executive after leading British Energy into a $23 billion takeover deal with EDF Energy in 2009.