BIGGER PLAYERS, NEW PLAYERS BRING GLIMMER OF HOPE

摘要

Last December Finland placed an order for the first of the new European Pressurized Reactor power plants. The 600 MW plant is scheduled to be in commercial operation in early 2009—a construction schedule of only five years. Also in December, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. announced a preliminary proposal to build eight new 700 MW nuclear units. These developments are in stark contrast with the grim status of the U.S. nuclear business. There is a glimmer of hope, however. Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has streamlined its licensing process and has approved several advanced reactor designs, utilities are just beginning to show interest in exercising the new regulatory scheme. It is a big decision to commit the resources to build the first of a new plant design under an untested regulatory regime. In addition, both the U.S. electricity market and the state of major industry players add further uncertainty. The Administration's Energy Bill, which has been bottled up in the Senate for months, contains provisions that could help break the impasse; but first the Bill must overcome its own impasse.