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UniStar considers new reactor at Nine Mile Point station in New York

UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture of Constellation Energy and France’s EDF Group, last week submitted a combined construction and operating license (COL) application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a potential new reactor at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, N.Y.

 
The final decision on whether to proceed with the new reactor has not yet been made. The NRC’s application review process is expected to take 36 to 42 months, includes public access to project information, and provides opportunities for public comment. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Public Service Commission, along with other regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be asked to review and approve various aspects of the project.
 
The COL application seeks federal regulatory approval for a 1,600-MW nuclear plant that will use AREVA’s U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (U.S. EPR).
 
The project, one of four proposed by UniStar, would “leverage the expertise of Constellation Energy, which owns five U.S. nuclear reactors, and EDF Group, the world’s largest nuclear operator and owner of France’s 58 operating nuclear plants,” the company said in statement.
 
“We believe [the U.S. EPR] is the safest, most secure technology available,” said George Vanderheyden, president and CEO of UniStar.
 
Vanderheyden said a final decision on whether to proceed will not be made until UniStar’s expectations have been met for safety, cost, regulatory stability, and bipartisan federal, state, and local support.
 
UniStar and its partners previously submitted COL applications for proposed U.S. EPRs next to the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in southern Maryland and at AmerenUE’s Calloway plant near Fulton, Mo. UniStar also is supporting a fourth COL application, to be submitted in mid-October, for a potential new reactor in Pennsylvania.

Source: UniStar

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