NRC Action on UniStar's Partial Combined License Application Sets Stage for Detailed Review of Potential New Reactor in Southern Maryland | UniStar Also Preparing New York Site for First U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor
Constellation Energy press release

On Jan 25, NRC announced that Unistar's partial Combined License Application (COLA), for a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs site, passed the initial acceptance review, and thus would be docketed for NRC's extensive licensing process. UniStar plans to submit the remaining portion of its COLA in March. UniStar expects to make a final decision in the next 12-18 months on whether to proceed with a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs site, according to Michael J. Wallace, chairman of UniStar and executive vice president of Constellation Energy. He noted the company also is pursuing a new reactor in upstate New York as part of its strategy to build at least four U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactors (EPRs) in the United States. He said any decision to build a new nuclear plant will take into consideration a number of factors, including project economics, ability to finance and the political and regulatory climate in the state where the plant will be built. "Ideally, we would like to break ground for a new reactor in southern Maryland in late 2008 so this carbon-free, base-load source of electricity can be in operation by 2015," Wallace said. "However, if we encounter delays in Maryland, we are prepared to proceed with the first EPR at our Nine Mile Point nuclear plant location in New York." U.S. EPRs have been proposed at existing nuclear sites in Pennsylvania and Missouri, as well as greenfield sites in Idaho and Texas. UniStar's full COLA will serve as the reference document for all additional UniStar COLAs. UniStar is working with Constellation Energy, EDF, PPL, AmerenUE and emerging energy companies such as AEHI and Amarillo Power. In November 2007, UniStar submitted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to the Maryland Public Service Commission for the potential plant at Calvert Cliffs and also announced an agreement with Alstom for the turbine-generator systems for the first four U.S. EPRs. In December 2007, AREVA, UniStar's reactor manufacturer partner, submitted its design certification application for the 1,600-megawatt U.S. EPR to the NRC.