Reactor Designs Concerns Raise Specter Of Nuclear Plant DelaysDow Jones
November 11, 2009: 09:05 AM ET
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Regulators' concerns about two new nuclear reactor designs could throw a wrench in energy companies' plans for a build-out of nuclear power plants in the U.S.
Regulators in France, the U.K. and Finland told French nuclear powerhouse Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) earlier this month to fix a flaw in the safety systems for its EPR reactor, which the company is also seeking to license in the U.S. And in October, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a modified version of the AP1000 reactor, designed by Toshiba Corp.'s (6502.TO) Westinghouse Electric Co., citing concerns about structural integrity.
Regulatory delays could force U.S. power companies like Scana Corp. (SCG) and PPL Corp. (PPL) to push back their timetables for building nuclear power plants using the new reactor technology, though both of these companies say their plans currently remain on track. More than a decade after the last commercial nuclear reactor was completed in the U.S., such delays could lead to the kinds of cost overruns that plagued developers in the first wave of U.S. nuclear power plant construction.
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