Calvert Cliffs Nuke Prepares for New Reactor

Maryland board approves wetlands license needed for third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs

A Maryland board approved a wetlands license on Wednesday for work that would be needed to prepare for a potential third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Lusby by the Chesapeake Bay.

The Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Martin O’Malley, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot, voted 3-0 to approve the license for UniStar Operating Services, LLC. The vote came after the company assured board members work would not begin until the project cleared business and regulatory hurdles needed to move forward. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown voted in place of O’Malley, who did not attend the meeting.

The work would include dredging and creating a discharge pipe for the Chesapeake Bay water used for cooling the reactor.

Hmmm, I'm pretty familiar with the plant and the region around it, and I can't really imagine what wetland area they're going to impact, unless they mean the shoreline itself, which they have extensively rebuilt.

Plans for a third reactor by UniStar, a subsidiary of Electricite de France, still face regulatory and business hurdles. UniStar still needs to find a U.S. partner, after Constellation Energy decided to withdraw from participating. The plan needs regulatory approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Still, Jarmas told the board it would be wrong to characterize the project as stalled.

“I think one needs to realize that the project has expended over $500 million in developmental expenses to get us to where we’re at,” Jarmas said, referring to permitting and licensing activities as well as detailed engineering design plans.

I'm a big proponent of nuclear energy, and as someone living within a short distance of this particular power plant, I'd like to see the new unit built.  It's good to see some progress, but it's frustrating to see how slowly the plan progresses.