EDF asks for state assistance

Company officials meet with O'Malley, Hoyer about CC3

Friday, March 4, 2011

By MEGHAN RUSSELL

Staff writer

Now the sole owners of UniStar Nuclear Energy, Electricite de France met with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and U.S. House of Representatives Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) on Monday to discuss plans for the third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.

While EDF's Chief Financial Officer Thomas Piquemal reportedly made a proposal to O'Malley asking the state to consider several options that would help finance the production of CC3, no one from EDF or UniStar was available this week to comment on the specific terms.

Without a viable U.S. partner to help fund the nearly $10 billion project, the nuclear power costs at this time will make it a challenge for EDF to be the sole investor in CC3's construction, despite a recent survey from the Nuclear Energy Institute, a policy organization for nuclear energy, which shows that more than 70 percent of Americans support nuclear energy over carbon alternatives.

The Obama administration also announced its plans this year to try and increase the amount of money available from federal loan guarantees to build new nuclear plants, the NEI reports. Nuclear power plants operating in 31 states currently provide 20 percent of all U.S. electricity.

Although EDF did not discuss with Hoyer the same proposal it made to the governor, Hoyer's press secretary Maureen Beach confirmed that a separate meeting took place between Piquemal and the congressman and added in a prepared statement, "Hoyer remains committed to working with EDF, the local delegation, and Maryland officials to determine the best path forward."