6 states competing for proposed nuclear plants

NorthGeorgia

6 states competing for proposed nuclear plants

BY DOUG SIMPSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BATON ROUGE, La. — Six states are competing to land the country's first new nuclear energy plants in three decades. Environmental groups said they'll try to stop the facilities from opening, no matter which states are selected.

A consortium of energy companies is in the process of choosing among six sites for the two proposed plants, which face at least a decade of red tape and construction before they could begin generating electricity. The group, called NuStart, has said it will announce the two sites by October.

Elected officials have little or no involvement in the selection process, but the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have been enthusiastic in voicing their desire to have a new nuclear plant in their states. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco called a news conference Monday to announce her support for putting one north of Baton Rouge, at the site of an existing nuclear facility, along the Mississippi River.

"I have high hopes that the consortium will choose Louisiana," Blanco said.

Blanco, elected on an economic development platform, said a new plant would bring thousands of temporary construction jobs, and between 250 and 400 permanent white collar jobs once it's up and running. She said the influx of nuclear power would help stabilize electric costs for energy customers, whose bills have fluctuated with the rising cost of natural gas.

Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi has made similar arguments. In May, Barbour addressed a group of nuclear industry leaders and offered Mississippi as a good state for a new nuclear energy facility, praising the form of energy as cleaner and more efficient than any other.

The governors of Alabama and South Carolina, which also have sites under consideration, had no comment of support or opposition to a facility, saying the process is in its early stages, spokesmen said. The other sites under consideration are in Maryland and New York.

Environmentalists said they are preparing to fight over an issue that has arisen after falling out of public view since large anti-nuclear protests followed a 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island plant, in central Pennsylvania, where a partial meltdown occurred in one reactor — still the nation's worst nuclear accident.

"A lot of us are saying, 'Oh, no, we're going to have to fight this battle again,'" said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Smith said his and other groups plan to meet with officials at Wall Street financial institutions — who would presumably provide loans to finance the construction and startup costs — and argue that a nuclear plant is a poor investment choice.