Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: Maryland

Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts

Friday, December 10, 2010

EDF seeks U.S. partner French-owned Unistar says its not under foreign control

Though they are searching for a U.S. partner to help build a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, executives of foreign-owned Unistar Nuclear Energy made their case Wednesday that they do not need one in order to comply with federal law, which prohibits foreign ownership or control of U.S. nuclear facilities. More at:
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12102010/rectop132428_32375.shtml

Friday, November 5, 2010

Constellation Energy closes Unistar deal with EDF Baltimore company no longer in new nuclear business

A deal to transfer Constellation Energy Group's stake in a nuclear development company to its French partner, EDF Group, closed Wednesday, according to documents filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last month, Constellation agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in Unistar Nuclear Energy to EDF for $140 million, giving EDF sole ownership of the joint venture and its plans to develop a third unit at Calvert Cliffs in Southern Maryland.

The deal called for EDF to transfer 3.5 million shares it owns, valued around $110 million, to Constellation and give up its seat on the Constellation board. EDF designee Samuel Minzberg has resigned. More at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-constellation-edf-deal-closes-20101104,0,5438442.story

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Click here to find out more! EDF and Constellation announce agreement on planned nuclear reactor in Maryland

Image via WikipediaUnder the deal announced late Tuesday, EDF will acquire Baltimore-based Constellation's 50 percent ownership in the joint venture known as UniStar for $140 million.

In addition to sites for Calvert Cliffs 3 and a potential fourth reactor in Maryland, Constellation will transfer to UniStar potential new nuclear sites at Nine Mile Point and R.E. Ginna in New York. More at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-edf-constellation,0,789311.story

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Nuclear society president-elect says loan guarantee changes are needed

The president-elect of the American Nuclear Society said the US
Department of Energy's loan guarantee program needs changes if it is to
increase the number of nuclear power plants in the country.

     The current program "is in need of reform," Eric Loewen said Monday at a
Nuclear Energy Insider-sponsored conference in Charlotte, North Carolina,
citing Constellation Energy's withdrawal earlier this month from consideration
for a loan guarantee for a planned reactor project in Maryland. 

     The government's offer of a $7.5 billion loan guarantee with an attached
fee of $880 million shows the program needs revisions, Loewen said.

     "The Office of Management and Budget has set terms and conditions [that]
may destroy the project's economics and prevent the project from going
forward," he said. More at:

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Nuclear/8107310

Monday, October 18, 2010

* Nuclear power in America Constellation's cancellation America’s nuclear renaissance is mighty slow in coming

Feds must fix loan-guarantee program to accelerate nuclear revival
The White House Office of Management and Budget's "ridiculous formulaic approach" doomed Constellation Energy's plan to expand the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, according to The Economist, citing the Nuclear Energy Institute. Unless the federal government fixes its loan-guarantee program, it is unlikely that new nuclear plants will qualify in states without regulated energy markets, The Economist argues. The Economist

Constellation asks $1 for stake in nuclear plant

Constellation: EDF can buy stake in Md. nuclear project for $1
Constellation Energy Group is prepared to sell its share of the Calvert Cliffs nuclear project to Electricite de France for $1, said Michael Wallace, chief operating officer of Constellation. The company said it would request $117 million in reimbursement costs for the Maryland project. "Market forces have worked against us," including weak natural gas prices and escalating construction expenses, Wallace added. Bloomberg Businessweek/The Associated Press

Thursday, October 14, 2010

EDF, Constellation Ties Worsen Over $2 Billion Plant Option

EDF seeks to purchase Constellation's stake in U.S. nuclear venture

Electricite de France has offered to acquire the shares that Constellation Energy Group holds in their joint U.S. nuclear power venture. EDF also said it is prepared to proceed with the construction of a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs facility in Maryland on its own. Bloomberg

(10/14) , Bloomberg Businessweek/The Associated Press

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

O'Malley, Other Officials Work to Save Nuclear Reactor Project

Md. governor seeks to revive Constellation's nuclear project
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley held discussions with Electricite de France executives in an effort to salvage plans to build a third reactor at Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for the governor. Constellation last week informed the Department of Energy that it cannot proceed with its bid for a $7.5 billion federal loan guarantee for the project because the proposed terms and conditions were unworkable. O'Malley was "very surprised and disappointed at Constellation pulling out of what was almost universally perceived as a near-complete process," Adamec said. Southern Maryland Online/Capital News Service (Maryland)
http://www.somd.com/news/headlines/2010/12596.shtml

Constellation Nuclear-Loan Pullout Tests Obama Resolve to Revive Industry

A U.S. loan-guarantee program is testing how much risk the Obama administration is willing to take to revive the nuclear-power industry.
Constellation Energy Group Inc. said last week it was pulling out of talks on a $7.5 billion loan guarantee to build a reactor at its Calvert Cliffs facility in Maryland. The estimated $880 million the company would have to pay the Treasury Department was “shockingly high,” Chief Operating Officer Michael Wallace said in an Oct. 8 letter to the Energy Department.
The administration offered terms no better than Constellation could get from private investors, said Christine Tezak, a senior energy and environment analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co., a Milwaukee-based brokerage.
“The fact that there seems to be a focus that these projects be very low in terms of financial risk seems counterproductive,” Tezak said in an interview yesterday.
The Energy Department has authority to provide $18.5 billion in guarantees to nuclear-power producers, serving effectively as a co-signer to help utilities get financing. The only award so far was to Southern Co. of Atlanta and its partners, which are getting an estimated $8.3 billion in federal backing for a project in Georgia. Southern hasn’t disclosed an estimate of the cost for its federal guarantee. More at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-12/constellation-nuclear-loan-guarantee-pullout-tests-obama-s-taste-for-risk.html

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bingaman: Collapse of nuke plant deal shows need for ‘green bank’

Sen. Bingaman seeks federal "green bank" for low-carbon projects

Constellation Energy's decision to abandon an expansion plan for its Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland underscores the weaknesses in the federal loan-guarantee program for clean energy, said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. The company said that it chose to shelve the project rather than agree to onerous conditions set by the Office of Management and Budget on a $7.5 billion federal loan guarantee. To help improve the loan-guarantee program, Bingaman is calling for the formation of a federal "green bank" that would offer financing services for low-carbon projects. The Hill/E2 Wire blog

Monday, October 11, 2010

Fertel: Federal loan-guarantee program in "serious need of reform"

Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Marvin Fertel said that the federal loan-guarantee program from clean-energy projects needs to undergo some serious changes if it is to be be effective. The statement came after Constellation Energy would not go forward with an expansion of its Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland because of the proposed terms of the federal loan guarantee. "For the nuclear energy industry, one of the most significant challenges involves accurately determining the credit cost of the loan guarantees," said Fertel. Read more

EdF charges Constellation pulls out of US reactor project

by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Oct 9, 2010 French electricity generator EDF said Saturday it was shocked and disappointed that Constellation Energy has decided to pull out of a project to build a nuclear power plant in the US state of Maryland. "EDF is extremely disappointed and shocked to learn that Constellation has unilaterally decided to withdraw from the Calvert Cliffs 3 project," the company said in a statement.
Earlier, Constellation Energy had said it was unable to obtain a workable US federal loan guarantee for their joint venture, Unistar, to build the third generation reactor.
EDF said they had been "at the finish line" in the loan guarantee process and that Constellation had withdrawn "in spite of our repeated efforts to substantially decrease their exposure and risk to the project."
Constellation Energy said the federal loan guarantee application had not been withdrawn, but that its cost as calculated by the US government's Office of Management and Budget was "unreasonably burdensome and would create unacceptable risks and costs for our company."
No decisions have been made regarding the future of Calvert Cliffs 3, Constellation Energy added.
EDF charged, however, that Constellation was well aware of the consequences of its actions for the future of Calvert Cliffs 3, which it called a project of "monumental importance to Maryland" that would create 4,000 new jobs.
EDF, in which the French state holds an 85-percent stake, added it "remains committed to pursuing new nuclear in the U.S."
The French company has ambitions to build four third-generation European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) in the United States.
Analysts said Thursday that EDF's managers had expressed readiness to look for new US partners if its partnership with Constellation Energy collapsed.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Unanswered questions about Constellation

What really happened with Calvert Cliffs?

Did Constellation really walk away?
It isn’t the end of the nuclear renaissance in the U.S., but it is an ugly turn of events. See more at link.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Aid Sought for Nuclear Plants By MATTHEW L. WALD

Constellation Energy Will a reactor be added? The Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Lusby, Md

CEG assesses factors needed for Calvert Cliffs expansion
Constellation Energy Group may need more than just federal loan guarantees for it to press forward with a third reactor at its Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, said CEO Mayo Shattuck. Since Calvert Cliffs is a "merchant" plant, it would benefit from high prices for competing fuels and high demand. But if prices are weak, owners may be unable to pay back construction loans. "I'd like to think we could get over the hurdle of this merchant dilemma," he added. The New York Times (free registration)/Green blog
.http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/aid-sought-for-nuclear-plants/?ref=energy-environment