Duke Power Looks To "Secure Option to License a New Nuclear Power Plant"

When it comes to possible plans to build new nuclear capacity, few companies make as much noise as Duke Power. Just off the wire:

Duke Power has filed preliminary information with the North Carolina Utilities Commission to modernize and expand its Cliffside Steam Station in Rutherford and Cleveland counties and Buck Steam Station in Rowan County.

The filings in support of an application for a “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity” (CPCN) with the commission are part of Duke Power’s overall strategy to plan for the future. The company is also considering whether to pursue the option to build a new nuclear power plant and is seeking bids from the wholesale power market for up to 1,500 megawatts beginning in 2009.

Duke also disclosed that it would be making a similar filing in South Carolina in the coming months. Click here for our post from February when Duke announced it was "in the initial stages of planning the preparation of a combined construction and operating license, or COL, application for a new nuclear generating facility."

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

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