FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 25, 2007
CONTACT: Geoff Embler or Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Announces Application for ‘New Generation’ Nuclear Power in Texas
Proposed NRG plant in Bay City would be America’s first
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R–TX) today announced that NRG Energy, Inc. has filed a formal application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct the nation’s first “new generation” nuclear facility in Bay City, Texas, 80 miles southwest of Houston. This is the first such application to be submitted in almost 30 years.
“Texas has been an energy leader for generations, and it is time to expand our portfolio in clean, safe and abundant nuclear energy,” Sen. Hutchison said. “I have strongly supported legislation encouraging more investment in nuclear power plants, including production credits and loan guarantees for new construction. We must continue to increase domestic energy production with alternative fuels and improved technology.”
The requested permit would allow NRG and the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC) to build two new nuclear units at the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power station site. The site is home to two existing units, but was planned to accommodate the proposed four in total. According to NRG, the new units would have a total capacity of at least 2,700 megawatts—enough to power more than two million homes—and are expected to be on line in 2014 and 2015.
“Today marks the most significant and tangible step to date, towards the construction of the first new nuclear power plant in the United States in over 30 years,” Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell said.
The new NRG units would be the first in the United Stated to utilize Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) technology, which is noted as one of the safest and most cost effective nuclear generation methods developed in the last 50 years. Four ABWR plants are currently in operation in Japan, and three more are under construction in Japan and Taiwan.
09.25.07 Sen. Hutchison announces NRG Energy, Inc.'s application to build a ‘New Generation’ nuclear power in Texas. Pictured from left are NRG President and CEO David Crane, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), and Sen. Hutchison.
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