In November 2003, the Department issued a solicitation inviting proposals from teams led by power generation companies to initiate New Nuclear Plant Licensing Demonstration Projects to demonstrate the COL process. As a result of the proposals received, the Department initiated the following three projects with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Dominion Energy and NuStart Energy Development, LLC. These new nuclear plant licensing demonstration projects or Construction and Operating License (COL) projects vary in scope and are being conducted on a cost-shared basis with industry providing a minimum of 50% of the total cost of their respective projects.

Dominion North Anna Construction and
Operating License Demonstration Project

The Dominion COL Demonstration project is based on obtaining a license to build a General Electric (GE) Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at Dominion's North Anna site in Virginia. The scope of this project includes the economic, financial, engineering, technical, and licensing activities necessary to achieve design certification and completion of the GE's ESBWR standardized advanced reactor plant design; preparation, submittal and NRC approval of a combined COL application; site engineering and deployment preparation that lead to a decision to build a new nuclear power plant.

North Anna Nuclear Power Plant

This project team includes Dominion, General Electric and Bechtel. If a new nuclear power plant order results from this work, Dominion potentially could have a new nuclear power plant in operation as early as 2014. The project is cost-shared with the Dominion team providing 50% of the total project cost.

NuStart Energy Development, LLC, is a limited liability company formed in 2004. The member companies are Constellation Energy Group, Duke Energy, EDF International North America, Energy Nuclear, Exelon Corporation, Florida Power and Light, Progress Energy, SCANA Corporation, Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) along with the two reactor vendors of General Electric and Westinghouse Electric Company from the NuStart Consortium.

Early Site Permit (ESP) Projects

In March 2002, the Department issued a solicitation inviting U.S. Nuclear utilities and generating companies to demonstrate the Early Site Permit (ESP) process. The ESP process was established by the NRC to enable completion of the site evaluation component of nuclear power plant licensing before a utility makes a decision to build a plant. Dominion Energy, Inc., System Energy Resources Inc. (Energy subsidiary) and Exelon Corporation were competitively selected by the Department in 2002 to conduct the three projects described below. The scope of these projects includes preparation and submittal of an ESP application to the NRC by each company for one of their current commercial sites and supporting NRC review to obtain the ESP. The projects are being conducted on a cost-shared basis with the power companies providing a minimum of 50% of the total cost of their respective projects.

Report on Lessons Learned from the NP 2010 Early Site Permit Program

This document summarizes the lessons learned and experiences of DOE’s cost-share participants during the regulatory process of applying for—and being granted—Early Site Permits.
Appendices to the summary report include individual lessons learned reports prepared by Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC; Entergy Nuclear, Inc.; and Exelon Generation Company, LLC.

Click here to view the Report on Lessons Learned from the NP 2010 Early Site Permit Program.

Generic COL Activities Project

A cooperative agreement was established in January 2004 with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop generic guidance for preparing a COL application and to resolve anticipated generic COL regulatory issues. The project is being conducted in cooperation with industry on a minimum of 50/50 cost-share basis, with cash and in-kind contributions from utilities, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), EPRI and other industry organizations.

The scope of this project is to identify and work cooperatively with NRC to resolve generic technical and regulatory issues associated with the Part 52 COL process, clearly define the form and content of a COL application, establish successful processes for preparation and NRC review of COL applications and associated hearings, establish effective and efficient processes for verifying Inspection, Tests, Analyses and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC), and address other generic issues identified.

Cost and Schedule Study for Deployment of an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor Plant at the TVA Bellefonte Site

Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant

This project was conducted under an interagency agreement established with TVA in August 2004 to develop a detailed cost and schedule estimate for the construction of a two-unit Advanced Boiling Water Reactor at the Bellefonte site in Alabama. TVA will use the results of this study to will make a decision on whether to proceed with filing a COL application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and whether to take subsequent steps for building the new nuclear plant. The TVA team includes Toshiba, GE, Global Nuclear Fuels of America (GNF-A), Bechtel, and the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). The cost and schedule study was completed in September 2005.

Click here to view the TVA ABWR New Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Demonstration Project, ABWR Cost/Schedule/COL Project at TVA's Bellefonte Site, August 2005