Constellation Energy pulls out of Calvert Cliffs 3 plant

I'm a little bit in shock right now; both at the shortsightedness of the government and the don't-plan-for-the-future mentality of Constellation Energy. If the government wants to get nuclear power back on track here in the States, they need to be a bit kinder to initiatives that could do that.

Constellation Pullout From Md. Nuclear Venture Leaves Industry Future Uncertain

"Constellation announced Saturday (after news reports surfaced) that it could not accept a $7.5 billion conditional federal loan guarantee because the Obama administration had insisted on too great a "down payment" in the form of a credit subsidy charge the developers would have to pay to the federal government to obtain the guarantee."

C'mon, Obama Administration, get with the program. You can't get anything started if you don't give the ball enough of a push to get it rolling.

Anyways, I'm deeply unhappy with the nuclear industry here in Maryland right now. I thought this venture would proceed. And I'm unhappy with the beancounters at the OMB:

Backed by an endorsement by President Obama, the Energy Department had hoped to use the guarantee program to support a few new reactors to test nuclear's potential as one of the answers to limiting greenhouse gas emissions. DOE kept seeking a solution in the Constellation case, sources close to the negotiations said, but a skeptical position from the Office of Management and Budget prevailed.

(ugh)

Constellation released its Oct. 8 letter to Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman yesterday, protesting a "shockingly high" figure for the credit subsidy of 11.6 percent of the guaranteed loan amount, or about $880 million, set at one point this summer. "Such a sum would clearly destroy the project's economics (or the economics of any nuclear project for that matter)," the company said.

But Constellation Energy is not entirely without blame, too.

EDF began sparring with Areva this summer over the escalating costs of new Areva reactors in Finland and France. With the Calvert Cliff's project at a critical juncture this summer, Constellation signaled that it might compel EDF to purchase some coal-fired power plants, an option EDF's purchase agreement provided -- a provision EDF hadn't expected to have to meet, industry officials said. The option expires in December, another key timing factor.

Bottom line:
The nuclear option has many GOP supporters, but their platform also includes attacks on the Obama administration's clean energy initiatives and the deficit, the latter stance allying them with nuclear power opponents on the left. The overriding challenge, this official said, is to find a path [out] of the national energy policy miasma and focus on where the nation's electric power will be coming from after 2020, before there's no time left to carry out the plans.

(He said "nuclear option". Snicker, tee hee hee.)