UniStar, NRC to meet over third reactor

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet this month with UniStar to discuss the issue of foreign ownership of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and its third reactor project.
"NRC regulations prohibit foreign individuals or entities from controlling safety-related activities at a U.S. nuclear power plant," Sheehan said. "In other words, a U.S. company, or companies, must retain control over safety-related decisions at U.S. nuclear power plants."
Specifically, the regulation states that "any person who is a citizen, national, or agent of a foreign country, or any corporation, or other entity which the commission knows or has reason to believe is owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, a foreign corporation or a foreign government, shall be ineligible to apply for and obtain a license," Sheehan cited.

Electricite de France, which acquired Constellation Energy's share of the CC3 project earlier this fall, will have to organize UniStar, its U.S. nuclear venture, in a way that allows a U.S. company to maintain control of such safety-related activities.
EDF maintained that the meeting is purely protocol for when a new company assumes control of nuclear operations.
"With Constellation Energy Group having exited UniStar, EDF is presenting the new governance structure for UniStar to the NRC," a spokesperson from EDF said. "…This is a routine and expected meeting given the change in control at UniStar."
The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the Two White Flint North building in Room T-10A01 located at 11545 Rockville Pike.http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12012010/rectop134306_32396.shtml