Governor Nixon: Reactor project could help define Missouri

The technology is unproven, the financing undetermined and the market prospects unclear. But those uncertainties aren't preventing a phalanx of Missouri business and political heavyweights from lining up behind a next-generation nuclear energy project that Gov. Jay Nixon hopes will help define the Show-Me State much like the American auto industry helped elevate Detroit.

Flanked at a Monday afternoon news conference by more than 20 statewide business leaders, utility executives and fellow politicians on the University of Missouri campus, Nixon on Monday hailed a plan to build small modular nuclear reactors. The effort is the potential "spark (of) a new global industry" that would not only benefit the state's power supply but also create portable power units that could be shipped overseas or elsewhere in the United States, he said.

Westinghouse Electric Co. and Ameren Missouri are competing with several applicants for a share of $452 million the U.S. Department of Energy has set aside to help design and develop the new technology. Top executives from those companies joined Nixon and spoke later in the day to an overflow crowd of more than 300 people at the university's Life Sciences Center at an event billed as the "Missouri Economic Development Summit."

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Energy firms discuss nuclear plans with Missouri panel

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri utility regulators said Wednesday they are interested by a proposal for expanding nuclear energy in the state— although state officials so far have no authority over the possible project.

Westinghouse Electric Co. and power company Ameren Corp. formed a partnership to compete for federal energy funds designed to support the engineering, design certification and operation licensure of small modular nuclear reactors. The energy companies announced the plans earlier this spring at the Governor's Mansion and briefed members of the state Public Service Commission during a meeting Wednesday in Jefferson City.

Public Service Commission Chairman Kevin Gunn said he hopes company officials will provide periodic updates, even though it falls under federal regulators' authority.

"It certainly has the potential to be a very exciting project, so we wanted to get as much information as we possibly could," Gunn said.

Westinghouse has applied for a share of $452 million that the U.S. Department of Energy is making available for developing small nuclear reactors. Ameren plans to seek a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would allow it to build and operate up to five reactors. Ameren operates the state's lone nuclear power plant in Callaway County, about 25 miles northeast of the state Capitol.

The license would be valid for 40 years, and Ameren has said the application process could cost between $80 million to $100 million and take four years.



Joe Zwetolitz, the president of the Americas region for Westinghouse, said Wednesday that the companies are competing against at least four others for federal funds. They anticipate the U.S. Department of Energy will split the award between two winners and announce the decision in September before the federal fiscal year ends.

The Missouri project would involve a small nuclear reactor that could produce 225 megawatts of electricity, about one-fifth the capacity of a large nuclear plant. The reactors are expected to take about two years to build, instead of roughly five for larger plants. A new reactor might not come online until 2022.

St. Louis-based Ameren has 1.2 million electric customers, mostly in eastern and central Missouri. Ameren Missouri President and CEO Warner Baxter said the state could be a "hub" for small modular reactors by becoming the reference point that other utilities use in nuclear developments. Other Missouri utilities and electric cooperatives back the plan, and supporters hope to create significant jobs and boost economic development.

Opponents, such as the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, argue the federal funding would help develop unproven and untested nuclear reactors that do not make financial sense.

In recent years, Ameren and other power companies have sought to clear the way for possible construction of an additional nuclear power plant in Missouri, but those efforts have stumbled.

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REDI forms task force to lobby for nuclear opportunity

By Jacob Barker

Sunday, May 20, 2012

While the effort to build a small modular nuclear reactor and develop a process to manufacture them might be years away, Regional Economic Development Inc. isn't going to be sit by idly.
REDI, Columbia's publicly and privately-funded economic development organization, is in the process of setting up a task force to assist Ameren and its engineering partner, Westinghouse, with anything the companies need as they move forward with plans to develop the nuclear reactors.
"Not only for the state of Missouri, this region of Missouri, it's really a tremendous opportunity," said REDI board member and Boone Electric Cooperative CEO Todd Culley, who has been tapped to lead the task force because of his connections in the electricity industry. "It's really as big as they come with our economic development hats on."
Last month, Gov. Jay Nixon, Ameren and Westinghouse officials announced they would try for a $452 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop modular nuclear reactors. Although smaller than typical nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, or SMRs, can be built more quickly. The money, which the DOE is expected to award by the end of the summer, would cover half of the costs of designing and obtaining a construction and operating permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ameren has an existing nuclear plant in Callaway County, and it has suggested that a new plant, if plans move forward, should be nearby. In terms of manufacturing the SMRs, a presentation from the companies said: "Westinghouse will explore economic development opportunities in Missouri in the areas of SMR-related training, design, manufacturing and university research and education programs."
REDI officials want to make sure Mid-Missouri can get a piece of the action, although they're not yet sure what Ameren and Westinghouse might want from them. But they think other communities might eventually try and get parts of the manufacturing process using tax breaks and other incentives.
"If there are opportunities, we certainly want to be positioned," REDI Director Mike Brooks said. "Any project's gonna have certain give-and-take, and we want to be able to respond."
But Brooks and Culley are quick to admit that specifics on the shape of the project are lacking. There could be one manufacturing facility, or there could be many and a common assembly plant, Culley said. There's no way to know what sort of infrastructure the companies might need, and even the idea of some sort of SMR factory isn't a sure bet. "There's no assurance that there will be any new manufacturing facility," Brooks said. "That's an assumption we're making."
Still, Culley hopes to name the other task force members in coming weeks. In addition to those with knowledge of the industry, he expects local government officials and University of Missouri administrators will be part of the group. He and other local officials already have sent letters to DOE Director Steven Chu, urging him to award part of the grant money to Ameren and Westinghouse.
"We want to be able to hit the ground running," Culley said. "We want to be able to act at the right time."
The idea of forming a task force early was proposed by Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill at a REDI meeting earlier this month. He and others in the group referenced the project's potential to have decades of economic impact on Mid-Missouri. And, Culley pointed out, the project is unique because it could attract many other businesses. As efforts to curb carbon emissions continue, power-reliant industries could be attracted to areas with clean, cheap nuclear power.
"I think everybody on the planet would know where Missouri is," Culley said.

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Westinghouse and Ameren Missouri Announce Creation of NexStart SMR Alliance to Rapidly License and Deploy Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor Technology

PITTSBURGH, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company and the Missouri Electric Alliance led by Ameren Missouri today announced the formation of a utility participation group called the NexStart SMR Alliance.

The Alliance is a consortium of current and prospective nuclear plant owners and operators and includes cooperative, municipal and investor-owned electric service providers, as well as public enterprises to advance energy security. Alliance members signed a Memorandum of Understanding that recognizes the importance of advancing nuclear energy in helping secure clean, safe and reliable electricity in the future by deploying the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR).

The initial membership of the NexStart SMR Alliance includes Ameren Missouri, Exelon Generation Company, Dominion Virginia Power, FirstEnergy Generation, Tampa Electric Company, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Savannah River National Laboratory, and members of the Missouri Alliance: Missouri Public Utility Alliance; Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Inc.; The Empire District Electric Company; and Kansas City Power and Light Company. Westinghouse and Alliance members are also in discussions with other utilities and enterprises considering NexStart SMR Alliance membership in order to support the potential deployment of a Westinghouse SMR at Ameren's Callaway Energy Center in central Missouri.

The NexStart SMR Alliance will collaborate in supporting Westinghouse in its application to secure Department of Energy (DOE) SMR investment funds that will be awarded to promising SMR projects that have the potential to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and achieve commercial operation by 2022. These cost-share agreements will span a five-year period and, subject to Congressional appropriations, provide a total investment of approximately $900 million, with at least 50 percent provided by private industry. The investment fund application will be submitted to the DOE by mid-May, and a final decision on awarding the investment funds by the DOE is expected in late summer of 2012.

John Goossen, Westinghouse vice president of Innovation and SMR Development and NexStart SMR Alliance co-chair, said the group is collaborating on a strategy that will lead to Design Certification (DC) for the Westinghouse SMR and the issuance of a combined construction and operating license (COL) for a Westinghouse SMR at Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center to commence operation by 2022. "Westinghouse and Ameren Missouri have an unmatched commitment to achieving the objectives set out in the DOE's funding opportunity announcement. If there is a stronger application team with stronger corporate histories, financial foundations, and operational excellence, I would be very surprised. Our companies represent energy industry leaders with the strongest backing from NexStart members, the state of Missouri, labor unions, elected and university officials, and a host of economic development, business and industry leaders who want to back the team with the best capabilities," said Goossen.

Scott Bond, manager of Nuclear Development at Ameren Missouri and NexStart SMR Alliance co-chair, said of the announcement: "This alliance will be key in helping to secure funding to build the first SMR at Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center. Callaway has an excellent operational record and the highest ratings for safety and security offered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We have been doing business with Westinghouse for more than half a century and we believe in their capabilities to deliver on the DOE's challenge. We understand the potential for Missouri to become the global hub for an American-made SMR and we are pleased to be a part of this important energy and economic advancement."

The Westinghouse SMR is a 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactor (PWR), with all primary components located inside of the reactor vessel. It utilizes passive safety systems and proven components, as well as modular construction techniques - all realized and already licensed in the nuclear industry-leading AP1000® nuclear power plant design - to achieve the highest level of safety and reduced number of components required. Westinghouse believes that this proven approach will provide licensing, construction and operational certainty that no other SMR supplier can match with competitive economics.

Marilyn Kray, Exelon's vice president of Nuclear Project Development, and member of the NexStart SMR Alliance said: "The Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant design being built in the U.S. are the direct result of DOE investment in American companies to benefit public energy policy objectives. This opportunity to join together to leverage previous federal investment in Westinghouse's licensed passive safety system, but for a smaller sized reactor, has tremendous potential to produce another advancement in U.S. nuclear energy technology leadership." Ms. Kray led NuStart Energy Development, LLC, a successful Nuclear Power 2010 effort that successfully utilized DOE cost-shared funds to produce rapid licensing of the larger AP1000 plant design.

The Westinghouse SMR is the company's next product innovation building upon the concepts and advances in technology achieved in the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant design, the first and only Generation III+ reactor to receive Design Certification from the U.S. NRC, initially in 2006 and again in 2011. Currently, four AP1000 units are being built in China with the first unit expected to come online in 2013, and another four AP1000 units are being built in the United States, the first unit of which is expected to come online in 2016. For more information about the Westinghouse SMR, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com/smr/index.htm .

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (tky:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants.

A second nuclear reactor ahead for Missouri?

CHRIS BLANK

The Associated Press

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and energy officials are to announce plans today that could include the development of another nuclear reactor in the state.

The Democratic governor's office called the plans significant for energy development and economic growth in Missouri. Nixon and officials from Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse Electric are scheduled to make the formal announcement this afternoon at the Missouri Governor's Mansion.

A Nixon spokesman declined to provide further details Wednesday before the planned announcement.
Kansas City Power & Light also declined to comment. But about a year ago, when Ameren said it was interested in building a nuclear power plant, KCP&L said it would be supportive of the St. Louis utility's efforts but wasn't interested in taking an ownership stake.

The state's lone existing nuclear power plant is in Callaway County about 25 miles northeast of the state Capitol and is operated by St. Louis-based Ameren Missouri. Officials twice in recent years have tried to clear the way for construction of an additional nuclear power plant, but those efforts have bogged down in the General Assembly.

State lawmakers in 2009 considered a measure that would have let utilities seek state regulators' permission to include the financing costs for certain types of new power plants in consumer bills before the plant is operational. Last year, legislators considered a proposal to allow power companies to seek permission from the Public Service Commission to charge customers for the cost of getting an early site permit from federal regulators for a possible second nuclear power plant.

A state law approved by voters in 1976 bars utilities from charging customers for the costs of a new power plant before it starts producing electricity.

Power companies and others have argued that changes are needed to move toward possibly expanding nuclear power in Missouri. But those efforts have faced opposition amid concerns from consumers and industrial energy users about protections for electric ratepayers.

In November 2010, Nixon endorsed the idea of allowing utilities to charge customers for the costs of obtaining an early site permit. At that time, a coalition of utilities that included Ameren Missouri, Empire District Electric, Kansas City Power & Light, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities announced they were considering seeking an early site permit for a second nuclear plant.

Nixon said that building a second nuclear plant would create thousands of jobs in Missouri and that the idea included consumer protections.

Last month, Westinghouse Electric said it would apply to the U.S. Department of Energy for up to $452 million worth of investment funds that have been approved by Congress to assist the development and use of small modular reactor technology. The company announced it would apply for the federal funds with a group of utilities.

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NRC hosts public meeting on Ameren nuclear plant

The Associated Press

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FULTON, Mo. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding public meetings in Fulton on Ameren Missouri's request to renew its license for the state's only nuclear power plant for 20 years.

The St. Louis-based utility submitted its license renewal application for the Callaway nuclear plant late last year. The federal agency is taking public comments as it begins an environmental review of the request.

The meetings are scheduled Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Fulton City Hall. NRC officials will also be available for informal discussions starting one hour before each meeting.

Ameren's current 40-year operating license for the Callaway County plant expires in 2024. Wednesday's hearing is not related to Ameren's plans to build a second nuclear power plant in Missouri.

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House Weighs Cost of Second Nuclear Reactor at Callaway

Location: Missouri

By: Dick Aldrich -Missouri News Horizon

Updated: March 7, 2012

Jefferson City, MO. -- The question of whether or not consumers will help Ameren Missouri pay for the cost of a permit it needs to begin building a second nuclear power reactor in Callaway County is back before legislators at the State Capitol.

The Missouri House of Representatives' Committee on Utilities hosted a hearing Tuesday for House Bill 1316, legislation sponsored by Rep. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, that would allow Ameren to recoup up to $45 million from consumers to cover the cost of the permit.

Riddle's bill allows the utility to recoup costs over a period of up to 20 years, allows for consumers to receive their money back if the utility sells or otherwise transfers its permit and it gives extra funds to the Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers during rate cases.

Riddle told members of the committee that time is beginning to grow short for a nuclear plant to begin construction and operation. She said EPA restrictions on emissions from coal-fired power plants would effectively shut those plants down within 15 years.

"Due to the time frame it takes to construct new nuclear facilities, we need to get started now," she said. "These aging coal plants will need to start coming off-line in about 15 years, and I think we are already behind the game on replacing them."

Ameren is joined by a coalition of other power companies, including the state's electric cooperatives, in seeking new nuclear power generating capability.

The intended location of the new nuclear power reactor would be at the site of the state's only other nuclear facility, the Callaway Nuclear Generating Station near Fulton, Mo. That facility is already operated by Ameren.



Warren Wood, Ameren Missouri's vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs told committee members the utility has already invested about $25 million in preparing a permit for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a site at the Callaway plant.

He told lawmakers that the utility would not be interested in moving forward with the site permit process if it does not get approval for cost recovery from consumers. He said the utility has "slowed down" work on the early site permit process because of legislative hang-ups.

"At this point in time, we look, and there's not a clear cost recovery path," he said.
One of the groups testifying against the bill supported similar legislation on the site permit pay issue at the end of the last legislative session.

Chris Roepe, president of the Fair Energy Rate Action Fund told legislators that his group now opposes the early site permit legislation. He said getting the early site permit paid for shouldn't determine whether or not a nuclear power plant project moves forward in Missouri.

Roepe said his group can not support Riddle's bill because it lacks several of the consumer safeguards that were included in last year's final bill that ran out of time on the last day of the legislative session.

The bill allows Ameren a longer time to recoup the costs of the site permit from consumers, which would lead to the utility collecting more than $45 million from customers over the period of the collection. In a press release, Roepe's group asserted that amount could run to $115 million.

Refunds from Ameren to its customers under Riddle's bill would be up to the discretion of the Public Service Commission, which must decide whether or not Ameren spent consumers' money prudently. Under last year's legislation, refunds with interest are automatic.

And Riddle's legislation funds the Office of Public Counsel at a lower rate than last year's legislation.

The thousand-pound gorilla that was in the room Tuesday was that piece of legislation that was forged together by all the parties, including Roepe's group, on the last day of the 2011 legislative session. Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, carried it in the Senate. Kehoe is sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate again this year.

Kehoe was present in the House hearing room for a while during Tuesday's proceedings. Committee member Rep. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, asked Roepe if his organization still supported Kehoe's legislation.

"If the utility companies would come on board and support that also, I don't think you would have any problem with us not opposing it," Roepe said. "We are not against nuclear power...it's just a matter of making sure that consumers are protected in this process."