Washington (Platts)--8Apr2008

New nuclear power plants are more likely to come online in the US in the
2016-2017 timeframe than around 2015, a senior industry representative said
Monday.

Utilities have been talking about bringing reactors into service within
the next seven or eight years, but Marvin Fertel, chief nuclear officer at the
Nuclear Energy Institute, said he believes that projects under development are
now closer to eight or nine years away from completion.

Fertel told an audience at the American Bar Association's spring meeting
in Washington that he hopes the nuclear industry could work on a limited
number of projects, somewhere between four and eight plants, for the "first
wave" of new construction.

If those projects are successful, he said, the "pipeline will be pretty
full" for the next round of construction around 2020.

Companies have estimated the cost of building new reactors at between $12
billion and $24 billion, Fertel said. NEI believes the cost is about $7-$8
billion per reactor, he said, assuming the unit comes online in 2016-2017.

Securing loan guarantees for new plant construction, particularly for
projects in restructured electricity markets, or receiving fair treatment of
costs by regulators in traditional rate-based markets could lower overall
costs, he said.

The cost alone for obtaining a combined construction permit-operating
license, or COL, from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is between $50
million and $100 million, Fertel said. But a COL is a "bankable" asset for
companies considering building new nuclear plants, he said.

According to its latest projection, NRC anticipates receiving 22
applications for up to 33 units through 2010. But budget restraints might
force the agency to delay reviews for six applications expected to be filed in
fiscal 2009, said David Matthews, director of NRC's new reactor licensing
division.
--Jenny Weil, jenny_weil@platts.com