Try doing that with alternative energy!
Posted on 10/16/2009 10:02:11 AM PDT by Willie Green
The U.S. may soon get its first nuclear reactor in more than 30 years. UniStar Nuclear Energy — a joint venture between Baltimore-based Constellation Energy and the EDF Group — has proposed a new reactor for southern Maryland capable of generating 1,600 megawatts and powering 1.3 million homes twenty-four hours a day.
To put this in context, the largest wind power installation in the world, the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas, generates 735 megawatts — but only when it’s windy. Nuclear, by comparison, is massive.
Having cleared the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the New York Public Service Commission, the project is in the final phase of due diligence for a cut of the $18.5 billion in federal dollars earmarked for advanced nuclear development. There seems to be only one remaining roadblock: the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Even though the MPSC approved the reactor itself in late June after an 18-month study, there has been a great deal of protest around the hearings for the deal between Constellation Energy and the EDF Group. With a price tag of $7 billion, the reactor will require not only federal loan guarantees, but also substantial investment from EDF, requiring them to purchase a 50 percent stake in Constellation.
This seems straightforward enough. But the snag — apparently large enough to re-open MPSC hearings several times — lies in whether the investment would give French EDF too much influence over an American power company, Constellation’s subsidiary Baltimore Power & Light.
Those opposing the reactor and the deal between EDF and Constellation have called attention to potential energy rate hikes that could be levied to offset the cost of the plant’s construction. Despite what EDF calls “overwhelming public support” for the reactor voiced during the hearings, it seems there is a small but significant group opposed to it on financial terms. This group has issued construction estimates of up to $15 billion.
To counter these arguments, Constellation says the deal’s approval would create 4,000 construction jobs as well as 400 permanent positions at the reactor, while ultimately benefiting the area with cheaper electricity as well.
A hot topic of debate in the region, the reactor is emblematic of the U.S. nuclear industry as a whole. If one of the first realistic proposals in 30 years is stopped, how much hope will there be for the next?
Try doing that with alternative energy!
Great news! Hopefully, the first in a new trend.
A big part of the near term (future). Do it!
From their website: "Hyperion Power Generation is commercializing the world’s first transportable nuclear power module in the quest for clean, non-polluting fail-safe, affordable and accessible power."
It's a single 6 feet tall mini-nuclear generator that is buried underground and can potentially provide electricity for 20,000 homes. Pretty cool.
If the US wants a future, we had better develop a workable energy policy. Nuclear is about the only alternative to living in the dark & shivering, especially if the Dims can push cap & tax through.
put one in the yard, sell power to all your neighbors!
great retirement buisness idea!
It's a single 6 feet tall mini-nuclear generator that is buried underground and can potentially provide electricity for 20,000 homes. Pretty cool.
I like the mini-nukes and think they should have a niche sometime in the distant future.
But priorities dictate focusing on getting the big plants going again. They've been dormant way too long, and the mini-nukes are a controversial distraction.
The French, yes, the French get 95% of their power from nukes. What is wrong with the LIBTARDS? Don’t they understand that if the French can do this safely, the U.S. of A. can do it “in spades”!
why do I get the feeling that The China Syndrome is suddenly going to hit hot rotation on AMC?
Agreed! This all goes back to the leftist hysteria of Three Mile Island and the China Syndrome movie of the late 1970`s. Part of the envirowacko extremist movement and eventual WashDC lobby that killed the nuclear reactor business.
why do I get the feeling that The China Syndrome is suddenly going to hit hot rotation on AMC?
And the Hildebeast will want publik skool kids to take potassium iodide along with their Ritalin.
Cool! Thanks for the on-the-frontlines support!!!
The South Texas Project will beat Unistar, They have already started ground preparation for two ABWR’s right nest to the 2 4-loop PWR’s they already operate.
Our parent company Toshiba has sold them and STP has already had the first of the COL (Construction-Operating Liscense) hearings.
Nuclear power is a vital part of our energy independence.
They say it only needs service every 7 - 10 years (replacing the fuel) and is constantly monitored remotely. If this works, it would be a great investment opportunity. However, they get their funding from a private capital firm. The fund where their investors put their money is closed. Darn.
we have almost double the nuke plants than the French do - 102 vs 59.
Calvert Cliffs is probably the prettiest nuke site in the world, equaled only by the Angra site in Brazil. I’ve worked at both along with about 20 other nukes in the US.
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