U.S. Needs 100 New Nuclear Power Plants Across Country
Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
May 04 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The United States needs to add about 100 nuclear power plants over the next two decades to meet burgeoning demand for electric power and maintain the current generating mix, Nils J. Diaz, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told reporters Tuesday.
Diaz, who also delivered the commencement address at Florida International
University in Miami, said that the federal government has taken a series of
steps to encourage private companies to build and expand nuclear facilities,
while at the same time upgrading plant security norms. These include simplifying
the complex licensing procedures and encouraging development of standardized
plant designs.
The NRC chairman, who earlier visited Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey
Point nuclear facility, said that building or expanding nuclear plants on
existing sites would cut down on overall planning and construction costs and
expedite the permitting process. By building a reactor at an existing site,
companies will not have to develop costly new infrastructure, such as roads,
connections to the electric grid and water supply, Diaz said.
The commission expects five or six new applications for plants over the next
several years and will seek additional funding so that it will have adequate
technical staff to handle them.
Last year, FPL joined a consortium of power companies, called NuStart Energy
Development LLC, whose goals are to obtain a construction and operating license
for a nuclear plant from the NRC and complete the design engineering for a
particular reactor technology. NuStart, and two other consortia, are laying the
groundwork for building plants in the future, but none of the companies involved
has made any commitment to erect a new plant.
Obtaining a construction and operating license for a nuclear plant includes
preparing extensive engineering and design studies. It is a complicated process
that costs several million dollars and can take years to complete.
FPL, with nuclear plants at St. Lucie and Turkey Point, has indicated that it
will not be the first to build a new nuclear facility.
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