NRG Applies for First U.S. Nuclear Power License in 29 Years

WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2007 (ENS) - NRG Energy, Inc of New Jersey and the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company have filed an application to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at the South Texas Project nuclear power station site in Matagorda County.

This is the first full nuclear plant license application in the United States in 29 years, since Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island reactor had a partial meltdown in 1979. If the application is approved, NRG expects to bring the units on line in 2014 and 2015.

The South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company, which currently operates two other nuclear reactors at the site, would operate the new units as well. The 12,220-acre site and 7,000 acre cooling reservoir were originally designed for four units.

The total rated capacity of the new Advanced Boiling Water Reactor units, STP 3 and 4, will equal or exceed 2,700 megawatts - enough to power more than two million homes. The project is expected to cost up to $6.75 billion.

"It is a new day for energy in America. Advanced technology nuclear power plants like STP 3 and 4, generating a vast amount of electricity cleanly, safely and reliably, will make an enormous contribution toward the greater energy security of the United States," said David Crane, NRG's president and CEO.

"But equally, this announcement heralds a new day for the environment. Advanced nuclear technology is the only currently viable large-scale alternative to traditional coal-fueled generation to produce none of the traditional air emissions - and most importantly in this age of climate change - no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases."

But the federal tax incentives and loan guarantees in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 were the "whole reason" the company "started down this path" Crane told the "Washington Post."

These multi-billion dollar subsidies include taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors, tax credits for the first six reactors built, the Price-Anderson Act limitation of utility liability for nuclear accidents, and risk insurance to cover possible delays in the licensing process.

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican who serves as ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, approves of the new nuclear development.

"This is an historic event for the future of nuclear power in America. Around the world, consumers are benefiting from clean, efficient nuclear power. Finally, as a result of years of hard work, our nation is now on the verge of taking greater advantage of this technology. I'm excited to see an investor-owned company submit the first combined operating license application in nearly 30 years, and I hope it is the first of many to come," Domenici said.

"Nuclear power is an essential component of any comprehensive national energy plan," said United States Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat. "According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 35 new nuclear power plants are needed in the next 40 years to keep pace with our escalating energy demand. A new power plant in Texas will prove to help combat the impact of global climate change and allow America to continue on a path toward energy independence."

The anti-nuclear advocacy group Nuclear Information and Resource Service, NIRS, said today, "Without taxpayer support, no utility would build a new atomic reactor, and no financial institution would invest in a new reactor."

"The NRG Energy application would repeat one of the fundamental mistakes of the first generation of nuclear power - the construction of nuclear reactors without a feasible facility or plan for storage of the lethal radioactive waste the reactor would produce. The Yucca Mountain, Nevada, radioactive waste dump is on its last legs, and appears increasingly unlikely to ever open. Even if it did, it would be full as soon as it opened, NIRS pointed out.

NIRS Executive Director Michael Mariotte says, "Texas is blessed with enormous potential for wind and solar power, while aggressive energy efficiency programs remain the cheapest, fastest and cleanest method of addressing both electricity demand and the need to quickly reduce carbon emissions."

"We expect Texans to oppose the NRG Energy project, and we expect to help Texans with their opposition," he said.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.