UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture led by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, moved a step closer to building several new nuclear reactors yesterday with the signing of a deal with Pennsylvania's second-largest utility owner.
PPL Corp. has asked UniStar to prepare a license application for a reactor to be built near Berwick, Pa. The application will be filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of next year. Though electricity from the project wouldn't come to Maryland, it would help bolster the regional power grid.
The deal marks an important milestone for UniStar in its quest to lead a revival of the long-dormant U.S. nuclear industry. Allentown, Pa.-based PPL becomes the fourth power company to align with UniStar - the number company officials said they needed to make the financial case to move ahead with the projects. The others are AmerenUE, Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. and Amarillo Power.
Two additional reactors are being considered by Constellation - one at its Calvert Cliffs nuclear station in Lusby and the other at its Nine Mile Point facility near Oswego, N.Y. The Calvert Cliffs plant would be built adjacent to two existing reactors. Without PPL and the others joining UniStar to help spread costs, it's likely the Calvert Cliffs plant would never be built.
"We're very certain we will have at least four that will go forward ... and make our business model more certain," said George Vanderheyden, president of Baltimore-based UniStar.
UniStar's business model calls for building a number of reactors based on the same design, right down to the wallpaper and carpeting. The standardization is expected to streamline the licensing process and allow UniStar to buy heavy steel forgings and power generators in bulk. Lowering the price is critical given the difficulty in financing new nuclear plants, each of which is expected to cost $4 billion or more.
UniStar is a joint venture between Constellation and Electricite de France SA, Europe's biggest power producer.
The company is marketing the U.S. version of a 1,600-megawatt reactor designed by Areva SA of France, the world's largest nuclear-plant builder. One megawatt is roughly enough to power 1,000 typical homes.
