The Maryland Public Service Commission approved a third nuclear
facility to be built by a venture of Constellation Energy Group
Inc. (CEG) and EDF Group at the Calvert Cliffs plant.
The plant - which will provide 1,600 megawatts of electricity,
enough to power 1.3 million homes - is part of what is expected to
be a wave of new construction of nuclear plants. Nuclear energy,
after being considered an anathema for decades in the U.S., has
become a key option for energy producers who are looking to
generate electricity in a carbon-neutral way.
"Today's PSC approval is critical to Maryland's energy future
and we applaud the commission for recognizing the vital
environmental, economic and energy benefits of a third nuclear
energy facility at Calvert Cliffs and the significant benefits it
will create for businesses and residents across the state of
Maryland," said Michael J. Wallace, vice chairman and chief
operating officer of Constellation Energy and chairman of the
UniStar Nuclear Energy venture.
In May, the Department of Energy chose the Calvert Cliffs
project as one of four projects for advanced talks regarding a
piece of $18.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for nuclear
projects. Constellation said the project, pending federal
regulatory approval, will generate 4,000 construction, engineering
and craft jobs and about 400 permanent positions.
In after-hours trading, Constellation shares were down 0.5% at
$26.69. The stock price has more than doubled in the past nine
months but still remains down three-quarters from its high at the
end of July last year.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355;
jay.miller@dowjones.com