Nuclear Energy

Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group's nuclear development arm said yesterday that it has asked state regulators for a permit to build a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby, though the company maintains it has not yet decided to go ahead with the project. UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Constellation and Electricite de France SA, applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for what's called a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The PSC will coordinate a multiagency review of the project's potential impact on the environment and state infrastructure, among other things.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration failed to brief key congressional committees in 1997 about the FBI's investigation of Chinese nuclear espionage, even as the United States was trying to certify that China was helping to curb the spread of nuclear technology, a White House official acknowledged yesterday.The admission is likely to intensify the debate over China as lawmakers and White House aides struggle to declassify a report on Chinese weapons proliferation before a March 31 deadline.

PITTSBURGH -- Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s second-quarter operating profit fell 6.9 percent as weaker results at its power-systems businesses offset gains in broadcasting, and a charge for environmental costs resulted in a bottom-line loss.The largest U.S. broadcasting company also said yesterday that it expects third-quarter earnings to drop from the second quarter because advertising revenue and ratings at its CBS television network declined during NBC's Olympics coverage.Profit from operations fell to $27 million, or 6 cents a share, from $29 million, or 4 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.

There is a reason why the United States has limited itself to a polite "regrets" in responding to France's highly controversial decision to conduct eight nuclear test explosions on one of its Pacific atolls. Like French militarists, Pentagon leaders are eager to retain the right to experiment with nuclear detonations even if President Clinton is successful in obtaining a so-called "comprehensive" test ban treaty by the end of 1996.One of the big questions sure to emerge is what should be the limit to the size of such tests if they are to be permitted at all. While the Gaullists newly restored to power in Paris would welcome a limit equivalent to 100 to 200 tons of TNT, the U.S. until a few weeks ago was committed to experiments of a minuscule 4 pounds.

General Physics Corp. plans to relocate and shrink its headquarters within Columbia by September, a shift the company expects will save $1 million annually.The nuclear and environmental engineering firm's new offices in the Columbia Overlook building will be roughly one-half as large as its current headquarters.General Physics recently eliminated jobs because of a reduction in its core nuclear energy business and the sale of some subsidiaries.The space reduction was also made possible by cuts in administrative staff after the absorption of GPS Technologies Inc., a subsidiary that was spun off in 1991 but reacquired in August 1994.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's top nuclear official said yesterday that his country intended to build about 10 nuclear power plants in the next two decades but denied that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.The official, Reza Amrollahi, also said that last year he signed a formal contract with China for two nuclear power reactors and that Chinese experts had completed a feasibility study and had begun to draw up blueprints and engineering reports for a site in southern Iran.Iran has already made a "down payment" for the project, which will cost $800 million to $900 million and involve training by Chinese experts, said Mr. Amrollahi, director of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

In some editions Tuesday, the new position of George C. Creel at Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. was reported incorrectly. He will be acting chief operating officer.The Sun regrets the error.Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. yesterday announced a series of management changes, including the first senior executive to leave since the utility's September announcement of a pending merger with Potomac Electric Power Co.George C. Creel, senior vice president of generation functions, will retire from BGE when the merger with PEPCO is complete.

Kensington. -- Brent Scowcroft, the former national-security adviser to George Bush, said recently that the chances of a global nuclear war are now near zero, but that the use of a nuclear weapon against a city within the next few years is more likely than at any time during the Cold War.When I was young I wanted to see, first hand, a nuclear explosion. Now I'm older, but my childhood's ignorant fascination with energy and physical power has not diminished. I'd still like to see a nuclear explosion, and I think many other people would, too -- but not to kill people.

Westinghouse Electric Corp., the Pittsburgh-based defense and electronics giant, said yesterday that it expects its first-quarter income will be sharply lower than a year ago because of poor results in its nuclear energy and environmental divisions.In a statement released yesterday, Westinghouse Chairman and Chief Executive Michael H. Jordan said earnings in the quarter that ends March 31 will drop to 4 cents a share, from 14 cents a year ago."I indicated that first-quarter earnings would be off during the meeting we had with security analysts in January and, most recently, when we reported our 1993 year-end results, so none of this should come as a surprise to stakeholders," Mr. Jordan said in a statement released after the stock market closed.

WASHINGTON -- Ukraine's government has agreed to shut down the remaining nuclear reactors at its power plant in Chernobyl, which was heavily damaged in a catastrophic accident in 1986, the Clinton administration said yesterday.After three days of meetings with a U.S. delegation, Ukraine abandoned its insistence that nuclear production must continue at the plant, agreeing instead to a joint effort with the United States to find options such as energy conservation and nonnuclear power generation to replace electricity from the plant, which generates about 1,700 megawatts of power.

The debate over Constellation Energy Group's proposal to sell almost half of its nuclear power business to a French-owned utility continued Thursday night in Baltimore. Supporters and opponents of the deal both claimed to represent the best interests of Maryland's financial, energy and environmental future. Employees of Constellation and its subsidiary, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., filled at least a third of the seats in the room and applauded heartily as their speakers argued that the $4.5 billion deal would ensure the future health and growth of the company and its value as a corporate citizen of Maryland.

EDF to sell assets to make up for 2008 earnings drop Electricite de France SA, Europe's biggest power producer and a nuclear energy partner with Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group, will sell assets to cut debt after 2008 earnings declined, and it missed estimates on costs associated with regulated power rates. Paris-based EDF will focus on cutting net financial debt by almost $7 million over this year and next after two acquisitions in the past six months. It agreed in December to buy half of Constellation's nuclear energy business for $4.5 billion.

The deal that rescued Constellation Energy Group Inc. yesterday from extinction, ensuring for now a Baltimore future for one of the city's major corporate headquarters, will also lead to the arrival of a new corporation in Maryland with plans to foster an American "renaissance" in the development of nuclear power. Electricite de France, the French utility giant that agreed to a $4.5 billion partnership with Constellation, said it plans to move its American headquarters to Maryland to lead its expansion into U.S. energy markets.

From the marshy fringe of the Chesapeake Bay to the flat farms of the Eastern Shore, Marylanders are pondering how to harness energy and reduce damage to their land while getting it. The discussion has permeated the contest for president, with John McCain and Barack Obama talking of lessening the nation's dependence on foreign oil and minimizing heat-trapping greenhouse gases formed when fossil fuels are burned. As candidates trade proposals, Marylanders such as Donald Graf, an engineer who has designed nuclear power systems throughout his adult life, and Eric Stocker, who struggles to prevent waste from his Eastern Shore farm from flushing into nearby streams, are attuned.

NextGen to acquire Md. health data firm Hunt Valley-based Practice Management Partners, which manages billing and technology for health care providers, will be acquired by NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc. for an undisclosed amount, the companies said yesterday. Horsham, Pa.-based NextGen, a health information technology company, said it has entered into an agreement to acquire PMP, which has 200 employees and about $16 million in annual revenue. PMP was founded in 2001 and handles physician billing and collection for hundreds of physician groups, hospitals, health systems and clinics in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Clarification The letter "Extravagant gown insults ratepayers" (March 10) failed to note that the $25,000 Molly Shattuck paid to have designer Christian Siriano create a dress for her will go to benefit the Baltimore School for the Arts. Efficiency is a better energy choice Using Maryland's energy crisis as an excuse to build a new nuclear plant in the state is hopelessly off the mark ("The energy answer," Opinion Commentary, March 4). It is true that if trends continue, Maryland could see blackouts as early as 2011.

Maryland's Allegheny Energy recently mailed two compact fluorescent light bulbs to each of its customers. Imagine the indignation when those customers noticed a $12 charge for the unsolicited mailing. Despite promises that the bulbs would save money, help the environment and prevent blackouts, Allegheny's customers were peeved. They wrote letters to editors and lit fires under local politicians. Allegheny relented and agreed to pay for the bulbs. Why was a power company compelled to pull a stunt that predictably raised the ire of its customers?

Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group's nuclear development arm said yesterday that it has asked state regulators for a permit to build a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby, though the company maintains it has not yet decided to go ahead with the project. UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Constellation and Electricite de France SA, applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for what's called a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The PSC will coordinate a multiagency review of the project's potential impact on the environment and state infrastructure, among other things.

The coal-fired power plants that Americans rely on to turn on their lights emit 100 times more radiation than nuclear power plants. As it turns out, coal, like uranium, is radioactive. And burning coal spews radionuclides into the atmosphere. But it's not a dangerous amount. After all, the amount of radiation the average person receives from nuclear plants every year is about as much as he or she gets from eating a banana. Tap water is also slightly radioactive. So are our own bodies and the walls of our homes.

Faced with the competing threats of global warming and a looming energy shortfall, federal regulators are contemplating whether another 20 years of service can be squeezed out of the nation's aging nuclear power plants without compromising safety. Many say they believe that the 104 nuclear reactors operating in the U.S. will be forced to retire faster than industry can replace them, unless regulators act to extend their lives to 80 years from the current 60-year maximum. The discussion is of particular interest in Maryland, where Constellation Energy Group owns two aging nuclear reactors and is considering whether to build a third to meet the state's growing energy needs.