May 1, 2008 9:32 pm US/Eastern
Constellation CEO Discusses Third Nuclear Reactor
LUSBY, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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Governor O'Malley says he supports the expansion of nuclear energy in the state to help address a looming energy crunch.
WJZ
Constellation Energy Group Inc. could break ground for a third nuclear reactor in southern Maryland by the end of this year, if financial and regulatory hurdles are cleared, CEO Mayo Shattuck said Thursday.
Shattuck gave Gov. Martin O'Malley a tour of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby to show security improvements at the facility made since the Sept. 11 attacks.
O'Malley spoke on a platform overlooking the power plant that once was open to visitors but has been closed because of security concerns.
Pat Warren reports the governor said he supports the expansion of nuclear energy in the state, because Maryland needs more generation capacity to address an energy crunch that could come as soon as 2011.
"I certainly would like to see more nuclear plants built in our country, and I would support more generation capacity and more nuclear capacity here in the state of Maryland," O'Malley said.
"I think that would be a good thing not only for the environment, but also for consumers as well."
O'Malley brokered a settlement with Constellation that was approved last month by the Maryland General Assembly.
The settlement includes rate relief for consumers and puts the third reactor back on track for development in Maryland.
Constellation had threatened to build the reactor in New York instead, saying Maryland's regulatory environment had shown signs of hostility toward utilities.
But Shattuck said the settlement eased his concerns and that the company wants to build the reactor in Maryland.
The challenge for expanding Calvert Cliffs now, Shattuck said, is getting the federal government to issue loan guarantees for the hugely expensive project.
Constellation has been working on getting the financial backing for a couple of years, and Shattuck said the Baltimore-based company has made "an awful lot of progress, but it's complicated."
"We believe that the Department of Energy is going to come out with a solicitation soon to help us essentially borrow the money with a government-backed guarantee that we can get this off the ground," Shattuck said.
If that happens later this year, Shattuck said, he hopes: "We could be breaking ground here at Calvert Cliffs by the end of the year."
It would then take between an estimated eight to 10 years to build the reactor.
"We have a lot of hurdles ahead of us, but we've also made a lot of progress," Shattuck said.
Shattuck said the company also wants to build a reactor at Nine Mile Point nuclear power station in Scriba, N.Y., about 90 miles east of Rochester. However, he said the company is "doing everything now with respect to our licensing process that would signal that this is the plant that we want to build first."
"This is the one that's first on the docket," Shattuck said of Calvert Cliffs. "You never know, in this world, you can run into a burrowing squirrel when you break ground and the whole game changes, so there are little issues like that."
Shattuck also said he was happy with the settlement approved by lawmakers and signed into law by O'Malley.
"I do think the regulatory environment is vastly improved and it really has mostly to do with the fact that we've put the past behind us," Shattuck said.
O'Malley said he believes the settlement created an "opportunity greater than it would have been otherwise" for a new reactor to be built.
"There are so many hurdles that need to be crossed, including the capitalization of such a project, but we're hopeful," O'Malley said.
Meanwhile, a rally was scheduled for Friday in Baltimore against the idea of building a third reactor, which is less than 70 miles from the city.
On the other side of the debate, Roy Innis, chairman of the New York-based Congress of Racial Equality, called for expanding nuclear power to keep the cost of electricity as low as possible for low-income families and the working poor.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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