NYT: Energy Providers Seek Grant as Step to Build Nuke Plant

[DeepModem Mom]

Energy Providers Seek Grant as Step to Build Nuclear Plant
By MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: April 26, 2004


WASHINGTON, April 25 - Amid growing signs of interest in building nuclear power plants, a consortium of companies plans to ask the federal government on Monday for $400 million to help prepare an application to build a reactor.

Separately, six companies applied on Friday for a smaller grant to study building an advanced reactor on the site of a twin-reactor project abandoned in 1988 as too expensive.

The consortium first announced its interest in building a nuclear power plant on March 31, but it plans to tell the Energy Department on Monday that it has added two big partners, the Tennessee Valley Authority and Duke Power, a unit of Duke Energy. It will also provide a firmer budget for its work.

The group, which has named itself NuStart Energy Development, initially included Exelon Nuclear, a unit of the Exelon Corporation; Entergy Nuclear, a unit of the Entergy Corporation; Constellation Energy; the Southern Company; and EDF International North America, a subsidiary of Électricité de France, which owns shares in reactors in the United States.

The consortium also includes General Electric and the Westinghouse Electric Company, a subsidiary of BNFL, which was formerly British Nuclear Fuels Limited.

The initial announcement by the consortium drew criticism from antinuclear groups, who complained about safety, vulnerability to terrorism and the problem of disposing spent fuel....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/26/business/26nuke.html

[maddezmom]

1. Entergy needs to find the 2 fuel rods in VT first n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Quick thinking, maddezmom!

"Entergy Corp. said two spent fuel rod segments were missing at its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in an event report Thursday.

The company said in a statement released on the NRC Web site its engineers are 'reviewing storage record and performing a thorough inspection of the spent fuel pool to determine the location of the rod segments.'":

Reuters
RPT-Fuel rods missing at Entergy's Vermont Yankee nuke
Thursday April 22, 8:27 am ET

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040422/utilities_entergy_vermontyankee_2.html

[enough]

3. "Free enterprise" at work

Why does the nuclear power industry always feel so entitled to taxpayer funding?

[dusty64]

4. Corporate welfare

at its finest.