[ RadSafe ] NRG Energy Expected to Submit First New Nuke Reactor Application in U.S. in Nearly 30 Years

[Sandy Perle]

NRG to Submit First New Nuke Application

NRG Energy Expected to Submit First New Nuke Reactor Application in 
U.S. in Nearly 30 Years 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Power producer NRG Energy Inc. is expected on 
Tuesday to submit the first application for a new nuclear reactor in 
the U.S. in nearly 30 years.
NRG's application for two new units at its South Texas Project in Bay 
City will be the first complete construction and operating license 
submission the government has received since before the Three Mile 
Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1979.
 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Scott Burnell on Monday said 
the agency, based on conversations with the company, expects to 
receive NRG's application Tuesday morning. He added that the 
government still expects to receive up to six more applications this 
year from Duke Energy Corp., Dominion Resources Inc. and others.

Utilities see in nuclear plants an opportunity to affordably meet 
demand for electricity, which the Energy Information Administration 
is forecasting will grow by 42 percent by 2030. High natural gas 
prices and the prospect of taxes or constraints on greenhouse gases 
are making gas- or coal-fired plants less attractive.

While NRG and other nuclear renaissance enthusiasts expect new 
reactors to come online by 2015, a March report from the nonpartisan 
Congressional Research Service predicted the process would take 
closer to 15 years to complete for several reasons, including the 
government's new review, testing and approval procedures.

Representatives from NRG did not immediately return calls for comment 
Monday afternoon. The company last month said it selected reactor 
designs from Toshiba Corp. for the two units, which are expected to 
generate enough power for more than 2.1 million homes when 
operational in 2014 and 2015.

NRG, based in Princeton, N.J., filed its letter of intent to 
construct the two units in June 2006, and expects work on the first 
to start at the end of 2010.
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Sander C. Perle
President
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
2652 McGaw Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614 

Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714  Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144

E-Mail: sperle at dosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl at cox.net 

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/