Revitalized interest in building new nuclear power plants in the United States has reached a new phase: the submission of license applications to federal authorities. 

In July, UniStar Nuclear became the first company to submit a portion of its combined construction and operating license (COL) application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  UniStar submitted the environmental section of its application. 

Although the joint Constellation Energy-AREVA consortium is the first to submit a partial license application, companies could send COL applications for as many as four new reactors by year’s end.  Altogether, 17 companies and consortia have announced plans to submit license applications for up to 31 reactors in the next few years.

The licensing phase is one of the first steps in nuclear plant construction.  Interest in building new reactors has found support among policymakers at the local, state and national levels.  That renewed interest is the product of several converging factors, according to Adrian Heymer, senior director of new-plant development at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

“There is a need for more power as we see continuing electricity demand and tightening supply,” Heymer said.  “We also see a need for power that emits little or no greenhouse gases.  In fact, the carbon footprint for a nuclear power plant, based on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through the entire power-generation cycle, is less than every other electric generating source except hydro.”

An International Energy Agency analysis found that nuclear power’s life-cycle emissions range from 2 to 59 gram-equivalents of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour, while hydropower’s range from 2 to 48 gram-equivalents of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.  Nuclear energy life-cycle emissions include emissions associated with construction of the plant, mining and processing the fuel, routine operation of the plant, disposal of used fuel and other waste byproducts, and decommissioning.  Nuclear plants do not generate greenhouse gases during operation.

Nuclear energy’s life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions are generally lower than wind (7 to 124 gram- equivalents) and solar photovoltaic (13 to 731 gram-equivalents), according to the agency.  The life-cycle emissions from natural gas-fired plants range from 389 to 511 gram-equivalents of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.

Policymakers from the statehouse to the White House are touting nuclear energy’s benefits.  “For Democrats and nuclear energy, the landscape has changed rather significantly,” Iowa State Rep. Phil Wise, a Democrat, wrote in a July 6 op-ed in the Des Moines Register.  “This brings with it the possibility of a fresh, bipartisan consensus on nuclear power.  Why?  Because nuclear power works.  It is safe.  It is environmentally benign.  And because the ‘times they have changed.’ ”

After touring the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama this June, President Bush said, “If you are interested in cleaning up the air, then you ought to be an advocate for nuclear power.  There is no single solution to climate change, but there can be no solution without nuclear power.”

The pace toward new-reactor development is quickening.  In August, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors unanimously approved completion of a second reactor at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant in Tennessee.

TVA estimates it will take five years and $2.5 billion to complete construction on the reactor, which will provide 1,180 megawatts of electricity.  The project will require about 2,300 workers during construction.  Design and engineering work will begin by October, TVA said.

The plant was 60 percent complete when work stopped in 1985.  “Completing Watts Bar Unit 2 puts an existing asset to work for TVA customers and provides a clean, safe and reliable source of affordable power,” said TVA Chairman Bill Sansom.

In May, TVA completed a five-year restart project at the Browns Ferry 1 reactor in Alabama, staying within its five-year schedule and projected $1.8 billion cost.  TVA said it would apply lessons learned at Browns Ferry to the Watts Bar project.

Residents within 10 miles of Watts Bar strongly support the expansion, according to a telephone survey of 300 randomly selected adults conducted by Bisconti Research Inc. with Quest Global Research Group.  Eighty-eight percent support TVA’s decision, and an overwhelming majority—90 percent—rated the plant’s safety high.

Also this summer, Entergy Nuclear signed a new nuclear project development agreement with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy to ensure timely delivery of critical parts for a reactor proposed at its Grand Gulf nuclear plant in Mississippi.

NRG Energy Inc. and STP Nuclear Operating Co. have signed a project services agreement with Toshiba Corp. regarding two reactors planned for the South Texas Project location.