PPL Corp. submits COL application for Bell Bend nuclear plant near Berwick, Pa.

PPL Corp. on Friday submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to build and operate a new nuclear plant—the 17th received by the agency so far.
 
The company has proposed in its combined construction and operating license (COL) application to build the Bell Bend nuclear plant close to the company’s existing two-unit Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa.
 
NRC review of the COL application, which is more than 10,000 pages, is expected to take three to four years.
 
In addition to the COL, PPL submitted the first part of the federal loan guarantee application to the U.S. Department of Energy on Sept. 29, 2008, the agency’s solicitation deadline. The company will submit a second part of the application as required before the Dec. 19, 2008, deadline.
 
A final decision by PPL on whether to move forward with the Bell Bend plant won’t be made for several years and will depend on NRC approval, on receiving a federal loan guarantee for the project, on attracting additional investors, and on the company’s view of the power market fundamentals at that time, said Victor N. Lopiano, president, PPL Nuclear Development LLC.
 
If the Bell Bend plant is built, it would create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of new permanent jobs, and it would increase the contribution PPL and its employees already are making to the economic health of the Berwick area and the surrounding region, Lopiano said.
 
The Bell Bend license application includes the U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) advanced technology from France’s AREVA, which is already under design certification review by the NRC. PPL contracted with UniStar Nuclear Energy, a strategic joint venture of Constellation Energy and EDF Group, to assist with preparation of the application.
 
Bell Bend would be part of the initial family of four U.S. EPRs led by UniStar’s Calvert Cliffs 3 project. Plants with this technology already are being constructed in Finland, France, and China.
 
If built, the Bell Bend plant would produce about 1,600-MW of electricity.
 
Source: PPL Corp.