Texan nuclear power production to double with Luminant-Mitsubishi consortium's new reactors

20 September 2008

Nuclear power output in Texas is set to double with the first steps taken in a proposed expansion yesterday. The two-reactor Comanche Peak nuclear power plant near Glen Rose would expand to four reactors under a federal application that Dallas-based Luminant filed Friday.

The proposed expansion of the Somervell County plant, about 75 miles southwest of Dallas, is part of a nationwide push for nuclear power, which backers hail as clean energy but many environmentalists oppose because of safety and waste concerns. Getting US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval and building the new reactors could take 10 years and cost from $10.2 billion to $17 billion, according to industry estimates.

Luminant, the generating arm of Energy Future Holdings Corp, which was created in the private buyout of TXU, said it formed a joint venture with reactor vendor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which could take a 12 per cent share. The new reactors would be built using MHI's 1,700-megawatt, US-Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (US-APWR) design.

"The US-APWR is the right technology, MHI is the right partner and this joint development is the right commercial focus for our team," said Mike Blevins, Luminant executive vice president and chief nuclear officer. "This is an important step forward into expanding the use of safe, dependable, clean nuclear power here in Texas."

"This joint venture will enhance the relationship between both companies, but more importantly, the construction and operation of the US-APWR at Comanche Peak will help ease the growing demand for electricity in the State of Texas," said Hiroshi Inoue, executive officer and senior vice president of MHI's nuclear energy systems headquarters.

Luminant selected MHI's US-APWR as its technology of choice in March 2007, following an extensive evaluation of prospective nuclear generating technologies. MHI established Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems as a wholly owned subsidiary in Washington, DC, in July 2006, to introduce the US-APWR to the US market.