What is NuStart’s mission?

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	NuStart Energy is a limited liability corporation comprised of ten power companies, created in 2004 for the dual purposes of: 1) obtaining a Construction and Operating License (COL) from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), using the never before used, streamlined licensing process developed in 1992 and 2) completing the design engineering for the selected reactor technologies.

What will NuStart build, and where will you build it?

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As a development company, NuStart is not authorized by its legal charter to build a nuclear power plant. Its primary purpose is to demonstrate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's application and approval process for a Construction and Operating License (COL). Decisions regarding building a nuclear plant are premature at this time, given the various uncertainties associated with the investment. It is hoped that through the NuStart efforts, these uncertainties will be reduced, assisting others in applying for approval to construct a new nuclear power plant.

Why is NuStart’s mission important?

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"Keeping the nuclear option open" is a critical piece of our country's energy strategy. By having a diverse supply of electricity generating options we can lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources and reduce our vulnerability to price spikes and supply interruptions associated with any one fuel type. Consider: Oil and gas prices fluctuate wildly; they are up now and are not likely to fall in the foreseeable future back to where they were just three years ago. In addition to keeping the nuclear option open, the U.S. is also looking at clean coal technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly efforts are underway to increase our use of solar and wind power. Each component of our energy portfolio is important. Without the nuclear option, we will be hard pressed to meet the country's demand for electricity — which will double by 2020 — without emitting a greatly increased amount of air pollutants and greenhouse gas.

Why is NuStart a consortium?

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	The immediate challenges facing a new nuclear investment are generic and one-time. It makes sense for the industry to work together to address these. The consortium gives us the opportunity to interact with the vendors, regulators and other stakeholders through a unified voice.

What will NuStart be doing? And how long will it take?

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NuStart Energy Development, LLC, formed in 2004, comprises ten members. These members, and two U.S. reactor vendors have formed the NuStart Consortium. In 2005, the consortium selected two sites that are the subject of two Construction and Operating License (COL) applications, one based on a GE reactor design, and one based on a Westinghouse plant design. Meanwhile, NuStart will be getting the first-of-a-kind detailed engineering work done on two different reactor designs. NuStart will provide the means for the federal government to share the cost 50-50 with GE and Westinghouse to do the engineering. This is an investment that will help all subsequent companies who wish to build on any site. NuStart proposes to file its COL applications with the NRC in 2008, and the NRC will begin its review and comment process. It is expected that the COL(s) will be awarded around 2011. At that point, consortium members, and perhaps others, will have an opportunity to use the COL and begin construction on a new plant.

How and why will new nuclear plants be better than today’s?

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No new nuclear plants have been ordered in the U.S. in 30 years. However, the two major designers and manufacturers of plants have continued to improve and refine designs, and have built several evolutions of successful current plant designs in foreign countries. The new plant designs will be further refined for any new plant to be built in the U.S. These new plants further improve the safety of today’s plant's robust safety record. The inherent, passive safety comes from the design, which has been dramatically simplified to have 35% fewer pumps and 50% fewer valves than the typical plant operating in the U.S. today. This increases reliability and reduces maintenance and operating costs. Both the GE Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) and the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 1000 reactor have these advantages. Next generation designs will incorporate still further enhancements, including modular construction, advanced thermodynamic efficiencies, and other passive safety mechanisms.

Why should government put money into the NuStart initiative?

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	Simply put, we all need to share the cost of making our energy supply secure, independent, adequate, and affordable. NuStart is participating in a 50-50 cost sharing program that is part of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, designed to get a new nuclear plant under construction by that date.