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Dominion chief says he'd like to see new reactor at North Anna by 2016 Date published: 7/2/2008
By RUSTY DENNEN Dominion power hopes to have a third nuclear reactor in operation at North Anna Power Station by 2016. That's what Thomas F. Farrell, the Richmond-based company's chairman, president and chief executive officer said in an interview yesterday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We're trying very hard to build one, and I think we will," Farrell said in a discussion about the nation's future energy needs. That's the clearest indication to date that Dominion is prepared to go ahead with the project on Lake Anna, assuming the necessary permits are approved. Company officials have said there's been no decision about whether to build Unit 3 on the Louisa County shore of the popular lake some 35 miles from Fredericksburg. Richard Zuercher, spokesman for Dominion's nuclear operations, said yesterday that Farrell's statement was simply acknowledging what's pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "He was talking about North Anna 3 and our position with respect to being the first to potentially build and bring online a new nuclear unit," Zuercher said. There are still hurdles ahead. For example, "We are still negotiating contracts" for the reactor, he said. If Dominion does decide to build, it's a huge capital investment. Early estimates put the project cost at between $2 billion and $3 billion. Several thousand workers would build Unit 3, and about 750 people would be needed to run the reactor, which would be located next to Units 1 and 2. Several environmental and citizens' groups are fighting aspects of the project, such as how it would affect Lake Anna temperatures, recreation and wildlife. Lake Anna borders Louisa, Spotsylvania and Orange counties. Last November, Dominion received an early site permit for Unit 3 from the NRC, allowing it to bank a suitable site next to the two existing reactors for 20 years, and to resolve environmental and safety issues up front. Also that month, Dominion initiated the final step of the application process, filing for a combined license to build and operate a new reactor. Dominion is the first utility to file a complete combined license application, putting it first in line in the process. The Calvert Cliffs plant on the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland is also in the final stage of the application process. The NRC is expected to make a decision on Dominion's application in late 2010. The last commercial reactor to go online was the Watts Bar reactor in Tennessee in 1996. There are 104 reactors in operation. Dominion is among a number of utilities wanting to build the first of a new generation of reactors. It plans to use an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor being designed by Bechtel Corp. and General Electric-Hitachi Co. That design is under NRC review. The NRC has not approved a new reactor construction license since 1978. Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
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