NEI Nuclear Notes

The following is a guest post by Matt Crozat, Senior Director, Business Policy at NEI. Matt Crozat Occupying less than a square mile along the busy Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston, it’s easy to miss the Millstone Power Station . A new economic impact study released today by NEI documents just how important the two-unit Dominion plant is to Connecticut and the region. Indeed, if Millstone were lost it would be dearly missed. Millstone, owned and operated by Dominion Resources, provides almost 60 percent of the electricity consumed in Connecticut, and adds nothing to the region’s air pollution. In fact, it displaces fossil-fired plants, which would pollute. But its role is felt even more deeply when one considers the economic value the plant generates. There are 1,569 full-time employees at the plant, in Waterford , but the economic activity they create supports an additional 1,691 jobs in the state and beyond. But Millstone’s main role isn’t to provide ...

Over the past few weeks, we've gotten multiple requests from our member companies to distribute video of the most popular panel discussion at the 2013 Nuclear Energy Assembly . The clip embedded below is from a panel discussion between four industry CEOs: Tom Farrell of Dominion Resources; Chris Crane of Exelon; Tom Fanning of Southern Company; and Tony Alexander of FirstEnergy Corp. The topic: "Navigating Uncharted Seas: CEO Perspectives on the Electricity Business." The discussion, moderated by Dominion's Farrell, was both frank and free-wheeling. If you really want to get some insight into the issues nuclear operators are facing these days in both regulated and merchant markets, this 31-minute video is a great place to start. Now, we understand that not everyone is going to have 30 minutes to devote to watching the entire discussion. That's why we're hard at work back at the office editing this same video into smaller bites that can be digested more...

Tom Farrell appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box yesterday and said Dominion is "trying very hard" to build North Anna Unit 3. That alone was enough for me to gleefully revise my personal talking points on the subject but there was more. "I think our plant will be the first to come on line in more than 30 years." Asked when that would be, Farrell said 2016. Woohoo! A related article is in the Richmond Times-Dispatch .

Thomas F. Farrell II, CEO of Dominion, appeared on CNBC plugging nuclear energy specifically , as part of the mix to alleviate our energy woes. Here is the video ! Here is a text story based on the video, from the Richmond Times-Dispatch , " Dominion CEO tells of North Anna plans ." And these are some highlights - can anyone recall comparable comments from a utility executive, ever? "Right now, more than 50 percent of the nation's electricity comes from coal. That's problematic as we all know," Farrell said, alluding to the effect burning coal has on greenhouse-gas emissions. "The country is going to have to move in the direction of nuclear power." "There are 104 plants right now. We probably should have, as a nation, 200 or 250 plants. Now that's a long-term prospect." Thanks to Michael Stuart for the tip.

Dang it, one expected special guest wasn't able to attend the press conference but maybe he/she will have a statement. I was looking forward to it. Regardless, my colleagues and I are pleased as punch that Dominion is maintaining a leadership position in the nuclear industry by submitting a full COL application for a third unit at the North Anna site. (Lisa's 401k watch--at last check D stock was up $0.63.) And while Dominion's CEO Tom Farrell said that getting the licenses does not obligate the company to build NAPS 3 it is clear from many of his other statements that he believes that it is likely that all of the variables will come together in such a way that it will make sense for the company and its customers to go ahead and build. For instance, he mentioned that in the next decade demand in Virginia will increase by at least 4000 MW and that the need must be supplied by a combination of conservation and efficiency, advanced technologies and reliable baseload. He also ...

From the Wilmington Star : GE Energy's nuclear division announced a deal Tuesday to build parts of the core infrastructure of a new nuclear plant tentatively planned for Virginia. Terms of the deal with Dominion Resources were kept secret. But Andy White, head of GE Nuclear, said the agreement was a boon for its Wilmington headquarters, where much of the design, engineering, procurement and budgeting for the project would be done. "This is great for Wilmington," White said. Congrats to everyone involved. Just another step in the process on the way to the next new nuclear power plant.