UniStar Nuclear Energy, a strategic joint venture of Constellation Energy and the EDF Group, has completed the initial acceptance review phase for the first units of UniStar's proposed fleet of advanced nuclear power plants in the US.
According to the company, the objective was achieved with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) announcement that it has accepted and docketed PPL’s combined license (COL) application for a US evolutionary power reactor (US EPR) at PPL’s proposed Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pennsylvania.
On December 18 2008, UniStar announced the NRC’s acceptance and docketing of its application for a proposed plant in Scriba, adjacent to Constellation Energy’s Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station.
Earlier to this, in 2007, the company submitted its first, or “reference” application, for a proposed reactor in Maryland. The three subsequent applications, including one by AmerenUE for a proposed U.S. EPR in Missouri, leveraged the experience gained by UniStar in preparing the Calvert Cliffs application. NRC review of the applications is expected to take 36 to 42 months from the time the applications were submitted.
George Vanderheyden, president and CEO of UniStar, said: “Achieving this regulatory for all projects was a primary goal for UniStar during 2008, and we congratulate PPL on its accomplishment.
UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Constellation Energy and EDF Group, is powering the nuclear renaissance in North America through business practices and risk-management. Based in Baltimore, UniStar Nuclear Energy claims to provide the licensing, construction and operating services needed to support the expansion of clean, safe and sustainable nuclear energy in the United States.