Residents and ministers, business leaders and elected officials all voiced support Monday night for a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant during a public hearing held a few miles from the plant.
A majority of the more than three dozen speakers voiced their approval for the project, which would double the plant’s electricity output and bring 4,000 jobs to Calvert County during its years-long construction phase.
“The state is in critical need of energy supply and we need new infrastructure in the short-term,” said Wilson Parran, president of the county’s board of commissioners. “We know groups and individuals believe our support is financially motivated. We can assure you, Calvert Cliffs has proven to be a good corporate citizen.”
The new reactor is not scheduled to be operational until mid-2015 but would generate enough electricity to power approximately 1.6 million homes. Calvert County commissioners estimate the new reactor would generate an additional $20 million in annual revenue for the county and create 360 permanent jobs, as well as 4,000 jobs during the peak of construction.
Not everyone is sold. Monday’s hearing was held by the state Public Service Commission, which is reviewing an application by a Constellation Energy Group affiliate to build the plant. Several speakers urged state regulators to closely examine the costs of the plant.
Constellation currently estimates the cost of the reactor at between $4,500 and $6,000 per kilowatt of generation, putting the total cost at between $7.2 billion and $9.6 billion. But Paul Gunter, director of reactor oversight for anti-nuclear advocates Beyond Nuclear presented one estimate of $7,000 per kilowatt, a final cost of $11.2 billion.
“It’s very difficult and speculative to predict a final cost and timeframe of completion,” he said. “The PSC has the first chance to stop the public from getting into a dark financial hole.”
Bill Scarafia of the Charles County Chamber of Commerce said that group had hard questions for Constellation about their plans, but came away satisfied.
“This project could be one of the biggest things southern Maryland has ever seen,” Scarafia said.
