Bush administration proposes $38 million to study possibility of commercial reactor on federal land

Posted 11:38PM on Thursday 14th February 2002 ( 23 years ago )

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is proposing to spend $38 million on a joint government-industry project to study whether a new commercial nuclear power plant can be built on federal land. The Energy Department plan envisions completing a new commercial power reactor by 2010, although the site has yet to be determined, said members of Congress who have been briefed on the proposal Thursday. The three sites to be studied are at the Savannah River weapons complex near Aiken, S.C.; the site of the now closed uranium processing plant, known as the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, near Piketon, Ohio; and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory near Idaho Falls. Rep. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., among the lawmakers briefed on the project, said the public-private partnership would involve the government in both building and operating the new reactor. ``I applaud (the) initiative to explore new sites for future power plants,'' said Chambliss, whose district is not far from the Savannah River complex. With the announcement ``to move ahead with exploration of increased nuclear energy, we move one step closer to increasing our energy independence,'' said Chambliss. The plan, if Congress provides the money, would give a major boost to companies that have been showing increased interest in building a new nuclear power plant. The last time an American utility sought a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a new reactor was 1973. Several plants were scrapped after construction began, some even after construction was virtually completed. But in recent years, there has been a nuclear revival, with several companies indicating to the NRC that they may submit a license for a new reactor in the next year or so. Industry officials have said that in most cases a new plant will have to be built on the site of an existing reactor or on federal land to avoid reduce community opposition. The Energy Department said it will work with two nuclear utilities companies Exelon and Dominion Resources on the proposed project. Both utilities are major operators of existing power reactors. Exelon, which is working on a new reactor design called a ``pebble bed'', already has informed the NRC that it probably will apply for a license for a new reactor in the next year or so. The Energy Department proposal, called ``Nuclear Power 2010,'' would help the companies study the three government sites, determine how much it would cost to build a plant and how the process to get an NRC license might be streamlined.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/198808