Global Monitor: NRG applies for first COL

Power, Nov 2007

This September, NRG Energy Inc. and South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co. filed the first-ever combined construction and operating license (COL) application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The two firms would like to build two new 1,350-MW nuclear units on the grounds of the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power station (Figure 1) and bring them on-line in 2014 and 2015.

The submittal was the first application for a license for a new U.S. nuclear unit in 29 years.

This July, Constellation Energy Group and UniStar Nuclear--a consortium of Constellation, the French reactor vendor Areva, and the French utility Électricité de France--filed a partial COL application for a potential third reactor at Constellation's two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear station on Chesapeake Bay. But the submission covered environmental issues only. Under NRC rules, the consortium must file the rest of the application for Calvert Cliffs within six months. Since July, Constellation/Unistar has supplemented the original application twice, but has not yet completed it.

The new units in Texas--to be called STP 3 and 4--are being developed as part of an NRG repowering initiative to add about 10,000 MW of clean and efficient capacity to its 23,000-MW North American portfolio. The initiative's goals are to better leverage NRG's existing infrastructure, to diversify its fuel mix while reducing its dependence on foreign sources, and to implement technologies that reduce the company's carbon footprint.

STP Nuclear Operating Co., which operates Units 1 and 2, would operate STP 3 and STP 4 as well. Units 1 and 2 are owned by NRG Energy (44%), CPS Energy (40%), and Austin Energy (16%).

The 12,220-acre STP site in Matagorda County, Texas, is considered one of the best sites in America for nuclear expansion. Its 7,000-acre cooling reservoir was sized to serve four units. The two new units would be built adjacent to Units 1 and 2 (Figure 2).

NRG has chosen advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) technology developed by General Electric Co. for the new units because it combines the best features of current BWR designs with enhancements that improve safety, performance, and longevity. ABWR technology is certified by the NRC and has impressive construction and operational track records, including the shortest time to build a reactor and the completion of many units within their budget.

Four ABWR units are already on-line in Japan, and another three are under construction in Taiwan and Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which has more than a decade of experience using the technology, said it will share its expertise to support STP's planned expansion.

face= Bold; POWERface=-Bold; Contributing Editor Tim Hurst explored the ABWR fast-track construction methods employed by Hitachi in this magazine's May 2007 issue. In 'Transfer ABWR construction techniques to U.S. shores,' Hurst wrote that the 'construction practices honed in Japan aren't just impressive; they're also eminently suitable for the fleet of new units planned for the U.S.'

Because ABWR technology and construction techniques are well-understood, NRG's choice seems an excellent one for the first nuclear unit to be built in the U.S. in a generation. 'We have chosen NRC-certified, operationally proven technology and the best possible, most experienced team to build STP 3 and 4,' said David Crane, NRG's president and CEO. 'We expect to build these facilities on time, on budget, and to the exacting standards that will guarantee excellence in safe and reliable nuclear operations.'

It took NRG a little over one year to follow up its letter of intent to build STP 3 and STP 4 with the COL application. STP Nuclear Operating Co. and a contracting team led by a joint venture of Hitachi and GE, and including Bechtel Power Corp., helped prepare the latest submittal.

The filing of the COL application kicked off an NRC internal process for formally accepting it that will likely take two months. After that, another agency process of detailed review will begin and last up to 42 months. It will include staff discovery, site visits, company responses, public hearings, and the filing of environmental impact statements.

If all goes well, NRG could receive licenses for STP 3 and 4 and begin construction in 2010. If not, the company could qualify for $1 billion ($500 million per reactor) in 'standby support,' or insurance against regulatory delays, included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

face= Bold; TVA green-lights Watts Bar 2face=-Bold;

Bechtel Power Corp. has announced that it has been chosen by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to lead the effort to complete Unit 2 at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (Figure 3) in Spring City, Tenn. Work on the original 1,200-MW unit was stopped in 1985 when it was two-thirds complete. The new, $2.5 billion project will take five years to finish and bring Unit 2 up to all contemporary engineering and safety standards.

TVA, the nation's largest public power provider, selected Bechtel after a comprehensive competitive bidding process. Bechtel recently contributed engineering, start-up, and other technical services to the successful May 2007 restart of TVA's Browns Ferry Unit 1 (see cover story), the first nuclear unit to come on-line in the U.S. in more than a decade (since Watts Bar Unit 1 in 1996). The contractor also worked for TVA on the restart of Browns Ferry Units 2 and 3 in the 1990s, and replaced the steam generators of Watts Bar 1 and of TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Unit 1.