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(Breaking news) Term sheet signed for reactor construction contract
Saturday, July 25, 2009
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Posted at 5:09 p.m. Saturday
French company AREVA and its U.S. partner Bechtel Power Corporation have signed a term sheet with UniStar Nuclear Energy for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, AREVA announced Tuesday.
The sheet represents a "preliminary agreement that outlines what is coming up" and "paves the way for the EPC contract," AREVA spokesman Jarrett Adams said.
Plans are for the reactor to be an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR), an AREVA design. Examples of EPRs are currently under construction in France, Finland and China.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval of the license application and finalizing of U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees are among the steps needed before a final contract can be negotiated.
A contract to design the plant was also awarded to AREVA and Bechtel Power Corporation in October, and an agreement was announced on June 1 stipulating that construction workers at the plant be unionized.
Construction of the proposed reactor is estimated to create as many as 4,000 jobs, while the reactor's operation following construction will generate about 400 permanent positions, according to the announcement.
