NUSTART NEWS RELEASE — Washington — The broad-based nuclear industry consortium presented to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Monday an industry-federal government proposal to share the cost of development of a Construction and Operating License (COL) for advanced nuclear power reactors.
There are these additional developments:
- Duke Energy, one of the nation’s largest diversified energy companies and a leading nuclear power plant operator, also joined the industry consortium, making nine energy companies participating.
- The new consortium, announced March 31, also adopted its name, NuStart Energy Development LLC.
None of the consortium companies has committed to build a new nuclear plant.
But NuStart Energy’s proposal does commit to complete detailed engineering design work and to prepare COL applications for the two advanced reactors, then commits to choose one of the applications and file it for NRC review and approval.
After NRC approval, any individual company or group of companies could decide to use the license to build a new nuclear plant, based on its assessment of power demand, the price of competing electricity technologies, environmental requirements and other factors.
“The Duke Energy nuclear fleet (operated by Duke Power) serves our customers as a reliable, economical and environmentally compatible source of electricity,” said Brew Barron, Chief Nuclear Officer of Duke Energy in Charlotte, NC, in joining the industry-wide group.
“We want to play a role in leading the evaluation for the next generation of nuclear plants. NuStart Energy is setting the stage for new nuclear plants as a vital option in a diverse power generation portfolio to meet rising electricity demand.”
Marilyn Kray, a vice president at Exelon Nuclear and executive lead for the NuStart consortium, welcomed Duke Energy’s participation.
“Duke has been an industry leader in the development of nuclear power and they have operated nuclear power plants safely and efficiently for four decades. Like other members of NuStart Energy, Duke Energy sees value in evaluating a new generation of nuclear power plants,” Kray said.
“This industry consortium is an excellent example of the nation’s leading electric utilities, a federal government agency and nuclear reactor vendors working together to investigate and demonstrate the design certification and licensing of the next generation of advanced nuclear power reactors,” she said.
“Nuclear power is an important part of the nation’s energy portfolio, accounting for about 20 percent of total electricity production,” said Kray. “Nuclear power’s safety, reliability, low-cost production and low environmental impact make nuclear energy a vital source for meeting America’s future electricity needs. The COL process is important because it will help consortium members make more informed choices in resource planning by gaining a better understanding of the technologies, cost, scheduling and risk associated with licensing and building a new nuclear unit.”
The engineering design work proposed by NuStart Energy would be the most detailed ever done on the chosen next-generation advanced reactors and, as a result, provide the most accurate cost estimates yet to build them.
Of the nine companies participating in the consortium, six have formed NuStart Energy Development LLC and each has pledged $1 million a year plus in-kind services for seven years, totaling about $42 million. A seventh power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal power agency, will be providing in-kind services only and two reactor vendors GE Energy and Westinghouse will be contractors to NuStart Energy. The power companies have selected the General Electric ESBWR and the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 1000 as the reactor designs for the project.
Since much of the work is detailed engineering design, the two reactor vendors would pay the largest share of industry costs, about $400 million. If approved, that amount would be matched 50-50 by DOE research and development funds, averaging about $57 million a year for seven years.
NuStart Energy's requested level of DOE support is significantly less than federal R&D funding already provided to other energy technologies to meet growing electricity demand while enhancing America's energy independence.
For the decade ending in 2002, Congress appropriated to DOE average annual funding for energy research of $54 million for advanced nuclear energy, $482 million for fossil including clean coal, $538 million for energy efficiency, $336 million for solar and renewables and $270 million for fusion. Such annual federal funding generally does not require 50-50 matching by the technology companies as committed by NuStart in its proposal to DOE.
In addition, wind turbines received a production tax credit of $17 a megawatt-hour, totaling $280 million in 2003, which is expected to be renewed by Congress.
NuStart Energy’s proposal seeks federal government cost sharing under DOE’s Nuclear Power 2010 initiative to demonstrate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s new licensing process for building and operating advanced nuclear power plant designs. Nuclear Power 2010 is designed to get a new nuclear power plant under construction by that date. To encourage energy companies, the program offers to share up to 50 percent of the cost of preparing an application for a construction and operating license (COL) to the NRC.
The new licensing process was adopted by Congress in 1992, but has never been used. The most recent nuclear power plant to begin operation, in 1996, was built under the old NRC licensing process.
In a survey last week of 1,000 Americans for the Nuclear Energy Institute, Bisconti Research found 74 percent agreed that the Department of Energy and nuclear energy companies “should work together to develop state-of-the-art nuclear power plants that can be built to meet new electricity demand.” Only 21 percent opposed and five percent were undecided.
Duke Energy joins Constellation Generation Group, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy, Baltimore; EDF International North America, Washington, a subsidiary of the large French utility; Entergy Nuclear, Jackson, Miss.; Exelon Generation, Philadelphia; Southern Company, Atlanta; the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville; and two nuclear reactor vendors, Westinghouse Electric Co., Pittsburgh, and GE Energy’s nuclear operations, Wilmington, N.C.
Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity and value-added products and services to more than 2 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. In 2004, Duke Power celebrates 100 years of service. The company operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,900 megawatts. www.dukepower.com.
Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in North America and selected international markets. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. www.duke-energy.com.