Copyright 2000 The Baltimore Sun Company
THE
BALTIMORE SUN
March 27, 2000, Monday ,FINAL
SECTION: EDITORIAL ,10A
LENGTH: 365 words
HEADLINE:
Boost for nuclear power; Calvert Cliffs: Relicensing of Maryland units
encourages recovery of nuclear industry.
BODY:
FEDERAL approval of a 20-year license extension for the Calvert Cliffs
twin-reactor power plant sets Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. on a course for
expanded use of nuclear energy in the next three decades. The new licenses
expire in 2034 and 2036.
The Baltimore company is poised to acquire
other nuclear facilities and has an active consulting firm to assist other
nuclear power companies in getting license extensions from the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. BGE is the first to receive the extensions, which is seen
as a step toward recovery of the stagnant nuclear energy industry. Nearly half
the nation's 103 nuclear plants will see their 40-year NRC licenses expire over
the next 15 years.
Prices for nuclear plants have plummeted, amid
concerns about relicensing, disposal of nuclear waste and escalating maintenance
costs. Some firms are snapping up these power plants at deeply discounted
prices; six have been sold. Constellation Energy, BGE's parent company, wants to
enter that bidding competition when the Maryland electric market is deregulated
July 1.
Several factors encourage a continuing role for nuclear power.
Last year, the nation's reactors produced a record 720 billion kilowatt-hours,
signifying enhanced reliability and a more economical means of power than
fossil-fuel generators.
A preliminary environmental impact study by the
Department of Energy recently concluded that spent radioactive fuel can be
safely contained long-term in underground storage. That supports a decision next
year on using Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to hold the nuclear plant
waste that is now stored on reactor sites in 33 states, including Maryland.
Another factor is the push to reduce fossil- fuel emissions. Nuclear
plants have virtually no pollutant gases.
The Constellation group aims
for a diversity of power supplies, not just nuclear facilities. It's acquiring
coal and hydroelectric power facilities and plans to buy power from other
companies to resell. But the Calvert Cliffs units, which supply 40 percent of
the metro region's electricity, are a key component of the company's
deregulation plan and of the recovery of the U.S. nuclear industry.
LOAD-DATE: March 29, 2000
