Nustart Picks 6 Finalist Sites for Nuclear Licenses
Date: 20-May-05
Country: USA
Author: Michael Erman
The last license to result in the construction and operation of a new nuclear plant in the United States was issued in 1973.
NuStart, which was formed to apply for the licenses that could allow new nuclear plants to be built in the United States, said it is looking at sites in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Maryland and New York.
The consortium said it expects to name the final two sites by October.
The US nuclear industry has been virtually frozen since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the worst nuclear accident in US history. No company has followed through with plans to build a new nuclear plant since the accident.
However, President Bush has backed renewed construction of nuclear plants as part of his energy policy.
And in an indication of a possible shift in public opinion, some prominent environmentalists have said they now support nuclear power because the plants produce hardly any greenhouse gas emissions.
All six sites chosen by NuStart are owned either by a consortium member or by the Department of Energy.
Four of the six already house operating nuclear power plants. Of the other two sites, the one in Aiken, South Carolina, holds a Department of Energy facility and the one in northeast Alabama has two partly completed nuclear units that never went into operation.
NuStart President Marilyn Kray said the four sites with operating power plants have the "most comprehensive licensing basis," and the five sites housing power plants have the benefit of established transmission systems.
The consortium will evaluate the sites on 75 factors including seismic activity, availability of water and emergency preparedness issues.
It is also sending letters to state and local politicians and development leaders to determine what incentives they might offer to attract the plant.
While some environmentalists have begun to support nuclear power, many others are still wary of the technology. Kray said Nustart is not particularly worried about protests from environmental activists at the local level, but does expect some resistance from environmentalists on the national level.
The NuStart consortium consists of nine utilities, including Exelon , Entergy , and Duke Energy , as well as nuclear reactor manufacturers GE Energy, a unit of General Electric , and Westinghouse Electric Co., a unit of BNFL Plc.
Under the Department of Energy's Nuclear 2010 program, half of the estimated $520 million cost of the project is being shouldered by the DOE and half will be paid by the consortium members.
