Utilities ask DOE to increase nuclear loan guarantees to $122 billion
Seventeen electric power companies responded to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) June solicitation for federal loan guarantees to support the construction of 21 new U.S. reactors, the agency said Thursday. The power industry has now asked the Energy Department to provide loan guarantees of $122 billion—almost seven times the original $18.5 billion allocated by the DOE.
Loan guarantees as authorized by Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, back early commercial use of new or significantly improved technologies in energy-related projects.
All five reactor designs certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) were represented in the Part I applications received by the DOE. The agency said it had also received Part I applications for $4 billion to support two different front-end nuclear facility projects.
The DOE estimated that the aggregate construction cost of the 14 projects—some that include two reactors—is $188 billion. If all projects were constructed, they would add 28,800 MW of baseload electric capacity.
Though the DOE did not name the projects, it can be deduced that the applicants include: UniStar, for an AREVA EPR reactor at its Calvert Cliff site; Dominion, for a GE-Hitachi ESBWR reactor at its North Anna site; Exelon, for two ESBWR reactors at its Victoria site; Duke Energy, for two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at its Lee site; and Luminant, for two Mitsubishi APWR reactors at its Comanche Peak site.
The AREVA Eagle Rock facility near Idaho Falls and USEC’s American Centrifuge demonstration facility in Piketon, Ohio, two front-end nuclear facility projects, may have also applied to the DOE.
The NRC’s review of combined construction and operating license (COL) applications simplifies and adds more predictability to the process of licensing new nuclear facilities, the DOE said, adding it will follow closely all aspects of the NRC licensing process.
In the meantime, it will review the Part I submissions and assign initial rankings of the projects based on the factors summarized in each solicitation. Applicants will then be invited to submit a Part II application in accordance with project rankings. These are due on Dec. 2, 2008, for front-end nuclear facilities projects and Dec. 19 for nuclear power facilities.
The DOE will then select final projects and enter into negotiations that will lead to the eventual issuance of loan guarantees.
Recently enacted legislation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, allows the DOE to offer loan guarantees for energy projects. In June, the DOE also issued solicitations for up to $30.5 billion for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and advanced transmission and distribution technologies.
As reported in last week’s POWERnews, the DOE has opened a subsequent solicitation for up to $8 billon to support coal-based generation, industrial gasification, and advanced coal gasification projects that use technologies to avoid, reduce, or sequester emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Source: DOE