Apr 12 2010
Nuclear Innovation North America LLC (NINA), the nuclear development company jointly owned by NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) and Toshiba Corporation, has announced an agreement for the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) of the AFL-CIO to provide skilled union labor to construct the two new nuclear units at the South Texas Project (STP).
Approximately 6,000 people will work up to 25 million hours to build the new units, STP 3&4, which are located about 100 miles southwest of Houston in Matagorda County, Texas. Construction of the new units is expected to begin in 2012, once the expansion receives its Combined License from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and should last five years with unit 3 coming online in 2016 and unit 4 in 2017.
“New nuclear construction at STP will be an integral part of the American nuclear renaissance and rebuilding the nation’s energy infrastructure,” said Steve Winn, Chief Executive Officer of NINA. “Clean reliable nuclear energy is key to meeting the environmental challenges we face as well as reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign energy. To ensure we can achieve these important goals and can build STP 3&4 and the many new nuclear units to follow, it is critical that we have a skilled pool of American workers. This agreement and the skilled labor it represents will help make that possible.”
A 2010 economic study conducted by The Perryman Group, a Texas economic and financial analysis firm, estimates construction of STP 3&4 will generate more than $15 billion in business activity in America as well as $3.6 billion in spending and $600 million in local and state revenues annually once the two units are operational.
“Nuclear power is making a comeback in the United States. And America’s Building Trades Unions are determined to assist the industry to ensure that this comeback is a resounding success story…not only for the electric utility industry, but for the nation,” said Mark H. Ayers, President, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. “To further that partnership, we have embarked upon an unprecedented mission of customer-centric innovation that will make us a truly value-added partner for the nuclear and electric utility industry. And that commitment is reflected in the agreement that we have structured for the South Texas Project expansion.”
The new units will not emit any greenhouse gases, avoiding emissions of almost 22 million tons of carbon dioxide as well as thousands of tons of sulfur, nitrogen and other emissions every year when compared with traditional fossil-fueled plants.
STP has been recognized for years as one of the safest, most productive and lowest cost nuclear plants in the world. In 2009, generation from the existing STP site delivered the most power of any two-unit nuclear site in the country for the sixth year in a row. STP has earned more national industry honors than any of its peers in the country and is the only two-time winner of the industry’s highest commendation, the B. Ralph Sylvia Best of The Best Award.
The STP expansion will use Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) technology, the only Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified design that is fully engineered with a history of on-time, on-budget construction and superior operating results upon startup. NINA’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractor, Toshiba, has experience building ABWR units in Asia where they have operated for more than a decade. Toshiba’s proven track record ensures the lowest first-of-a-kind technology risk and provides greater certainty on critical factors such as cost, schedule, process, quantities and final result.
Source: http://www.nuclearinnovation.com/