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Air quality in Calvert County would suffer if a third nuclear reactor is built at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby, some local residents said this week during a public hearing. Residents questioned the amount of emissions that would be produced by a third reactor's cooling tower and its backup diesel generators. They said they want UniStar Nuclear Energy, which wants to build the reactor, to use data from working plants rather than projected information about air quality. They also called for more state air monitoring near the plant.

The proposed Calvert Cliffs 3 reactor in southern Maryland has been considered a leader in the nuclear power industry's hopes for a U.S. renaissance. It is a finalist for a multibillion-dollar Energy Department construction loan guarantee, and for months, the political and financial signals facing it have been green lights. Its developer, Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, would share the deep pockets of its French partner, Électricité de France International (EDF), the largest nuclear power provider in the world. EDF has offered Constellation $4.5 billion for a 49.99 percent share in the Maryland company's nuclear power projects, including the proposed new reactor.

A statewide SWAT team exercise at a firing range on the secured grounds of a nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland was halted this month after stray bullets shattered glass and struck a command center near the plant's reactors, officials said yesterday. Reactor safety at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby was never compromised, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Constellation Energy Group, which operates the facility.

A Calvert County official urged Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) on Friday to continue his support of Constellation Energy Group's merger with a French energy giant and its plans to build a third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby. Board of County Commissioners President Wilson H. Parran (D-Huntingtown) told O'Malley that Maryland is facing an energy shortage and that the third reactor would be a source of much-needed power. Constellation officials have said the reactor would nearly double the plant's capacity. Parran said the project would bring hundreds of jobs to the county, plus tax revenue.

The proposed third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant has received Maryland's final approval. In an order made public Monday, the state's Public Service Commission affirmed a hearing examiner's approval of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for UniStar Nuclear Energy to build the reactor at the plant, which is along the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby and operated by Constellation Energy Group.

Maryland regulators gave UniStar Nuclear energy approval to build a US-EPR at the Calvert Cliffs site, according to Constellation Energy. UniStar is a joint venture of Constellation and Electricite de France. The Maryland Public Service Commission issued UniStar a certificate of public convenience and necessity June 29 after completing an 18-month review that included multiple public hearings, Constellation said. The certificate is required before Calvert Cliff-3 can be built.

Supporters and opponents of nuclear power faced off Wednesday, May 20, under the auspices of a forum sponsored by the Calvert and St. Mary's county chapters of the League of Women Voters. The handling of nuclear waste was one fulcrum of discussion, with panelists discussing the safety and viability of short- and long-term storage methods. Brian O'Connell, director of the Nuclear Waste Program Office for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, said the federal government, not utility companies, is responsible for nuclear waste disposal. He lamented that plans for a permanent site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada have been put on hold by the Obama administration, a decision he said was politically motivated.

A labor agreement for the potential construction of a new nuclear unit at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland was signed with Bechtel Construction Co., the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, or BCTD, said June 1. Bechtel and the BCTD said in April 2008 that they were negotiating a labor agreement to lay out the terms for wages, benefits, work hours and working conditions for skilled craft workers on UniStar Nuclear Energy's planned Calvert Cliffs-3 project. UniStar, a joint venture of Constellation Energy and EDF Group, wants to build a fleet of Areva US-EPRs in the US, beginning with a new unit at its two-reactor Calvert Cliffs site.

The Maryland Public Service Commission's (PSC) issuance today of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to UniStar Nuclear is a costly step in the wrong direction for Maryland's energy future. This permit serves as the state's nod to construct a new uranium-fueled reactor in southern Maryland, a decision that not only could prove to be extraordinarily costly for taxpayers - as testimony provided to the PSC made clear - but tethers Maryland to continued reliance on dirty energy generation rather than moving our state toward becoming a leader in clean energy. The permit in its current form subjects UniStar Nuclear - a joint venture between Constellation Energy and the French-state controlled Electricite de France (EDF), which increasingly controls Constellation itself - only to some minor conditions.

An official charged with weighing the pros and cons of building a third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs power plant recommended Wednesday that state energy regulators approve the project. Constellation Energy Group and a French partner are seeking permission to expand Constellation's plant in Calvert County, work that Gov. Martin O'Malley and others say will help address a predicted electricity shortage while slowing customer rate increases. The approval proposed Wednesday by Public Service Commission hearing examiner Joel M. Bright will become final May 29, unless the commission or one of the parties objects.

Nonproliferation Policy Education Center This particular report focusses on Calvert Cliffs but has extensive information about subsidies

"Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Combined License for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) [[Page 20868]] and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, have published NUREG-1936, ``Environmental Impact Statement for the Combined License (COL) for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3: Draft Report for Comment.'' The site is located in Calvert County, Maryland, along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Part 1 of the application for the COL was submitted by letter dated July 7, 2007, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52 and 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5). A notice of acceptance for docketing of Part 1 of the COL application was published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2008 (73 FR 5877). A notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and to conduct the scoping process was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2008 (73 FR 8719). Part 2 of the COL application was submitted by letter dated March 14, 2008, and a notice of acceptance for docketing for Part 2 was published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2008 (73 FR 32606). A COL is an authorization to construct and (with specified conditions) operate a nuclear power plant at a specific site, in accordance with established laws and regulations. "

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided to open its hearing process in a dispute over a proposal to build a third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby. The NRC made the decision Tuesday in the application process for UniStar Nuclear, which is a joint venture of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy and the EDF Group, a French company. Several groups argue the third reactor would be owned and controlled by foreign interests, contrary to the Atomic Energy Act and NRC regulations. But UniStar counters that the proposal would not put a third reactor into control by foreign interests. The NRC hasn't taken a position, and the hearing process can take more than a year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided to open its hearing process in a dispute over a proposal to build a third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby. The NRC made the decision Tuesday in the application process for UniStar Nuclear, which is a joint venture of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy and the EDF Group, a French company. Several groups argue the third reactor would be owned and controlled by foreign interests, contrary to the Atomic Energy Act and NRC regulations. But UniStar counters that the proposal would not put a third reactor into control by foreign interests. The NRC hasn't taken a position, and the hearing process can take more than a year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved the transfer of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2, Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2, and Ginna nuclear reactors, as well as the license for the Calvert Cliffs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), to a new ownership structure created by the joint venture of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) and EDF Development, a U.S. subsidiary of Électricité de France S.A., a French limited company. As provided by NRC regulations, the staff's approval of the transfer is effective October 9. CENG and EDF Development submitted an application Jan. 22 requesting approval of the license transfer, and the companies provided supplemental information Feb. 26, April 8, June 25 and July 27. Following EDF Development's proposed purchase of 49.99 percent of CENG, Constellation Energy Group (CEG) would hold the remaining 50.01 percent through two intermediate companies, Constellation Nuclear and CE Nuclear. The current Constellation Nuclear Power Plants corporation would become an LLC and exist between CENG and the individual power plants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved the transfer of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2, Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2, and Ginna nuclear reactors, as well as the license for the Calvert Cliffs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), to a new ownership structure created by the joint venture of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) and EDF Development, a U.S. subsidiary of Électricité de France S.A., a French limited company. As provided by NRC regulations, the staff's approval of the transfer is effective October 9. CENG and EDF Development submitted an application Jan. 22 requesting approval of the license transfer, and the companies provided supplemental information Feb. 26, April 8, June 25 and July 27. Following EDF Development's proposed purchase of 49.99 percent of CENG, Constellation Energy Group (CEG) would hold the remaining 50.01 percent through two intermediate companies, Constellation Nuclear and CE Nuclear. The current Constellation Nuclear Power Plants corporation would become an LLC and exist between CENG and the individual power plants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved the transfer of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2, Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2, and Ginna nuclear reactors, as well as the license for the Calvert Cliffs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), to a new ownership structure created by the joint venture of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) and EDF Development, a U.S. subsidiary of Électricité de France S.A., a French limited company. As provided by NRC regulations, the staff's approval of the transfer is effective October 9. CENG and EDF Development submitted an application Jan. 22 requesting approval of the license transfer, and the companies provided supplemental information Feb. 26, April 8, June 25 and July 27. Following EDF Development's proposed purchase of 49.99 percent of CENG, Constellation Energy Group (CEG) would hold the remaining 50.01 percent through two intermediate companies, Constellation Nuclear and CE Nuclear. The current Constellation Nuclear Power Plants corporation would become an LLC and exist between CENG and the individual power plants.

A Maryland agency has given a key approval to a deal between two companies that hope to build an Areva-designed nuclear reactor. The approval lets Electricite de France buy about half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear business, seen as an important step in the two companies' plans to build new nuclear reactors. The two companies partnered two years ago to form UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture. UniStar has been working to promote the construction of Evolutionary Power Reactors in the U.S.

A Maryland agency has given a key approval to a deal between two companies that hope to build an Areva-designed nuclear reactor. The approval lets Electricite de France buy about half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear business, seen as an important step in the two companies' plans to build new nuclear reactors. The two companies partnered two years ago to form UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture. UniStar has been working to promote the construction of Evolutionary Power Reactors in the U.S.

EDF welcomes the decision of the Board of Directors of its American partner Constellation Energy to approve moving forward based on the conditions set forth in the order issued by the Maryland Public Service Commission with respect to the creation of a nuclear joint venture between EDF and Constellation Energy. The Maryland PSC has attached conditions designed to preserve the independence and financial strength of Constellation Energy`s regulated subsidiary. Approval from the Maryland PSC completes the regulatory review process, and the companies now have received all necessary approvals at the federal and state levels to proceed with the transaction. EDF and Constellation Energy will complete the transaction without modification to the previously agreed terms of the transaction. EDF will commence the process to enable the close of the transaction, for which it has already received the authorization of its own Board of Directors. The consummation of the transaction is the result of a partnership between EDF and Constellation Energy that began over two years ago.

EDF welcomes the decision of the Board of Directors of its American partner Constellation Energy to approve moving forward based on the conditions set forth in the order issued by the Maryland Public Service Commission with respect to the creation of a nuclear joint venture between EDF and Constellation Energy. The Maryland PSC has attached conditions designed to preserve the independence and financial strength of Constellation Energy`s regulated subsidiary. Approval from the Maryland PSC completes the regulatory review process, and the companies now have received all necessary approvals at the federal and state levels to proceed with the transaction. EDF and Constellation Energy will complete the transaction without modification to the previously agreed terms of the transaction. EDF will commence the process to enable the close of the transaction, for which it has already received the authorization of its own Board of Directors. The consummation of the transaction is the result of a partnership between EDF and Constellation Energy that began over two years ago.