Texas at the Forefront of the Nuclear Renaissance

That's a story that's running in today's Houston Chronicle:

The number of nuclear-powered generators in Texas could triple in the next decade with several new projects in the works.

Expansions at the state's two existing plants — Comanche Peak [pictured to left] south of Dallas and the South Texas Project near Bay City — took steps this past week when TXU Energy said it will likely buy two reactors from Mitsubishi for the Dallas-area expansion, and NRG Energy said it will work with a Tokyo utility as an adviser for two reactors at Bay City.

Illinois-based Exelon Energy has also said it is considering sites in South and East Texas for a new two-unit plant, while a private firm in Amarillo hopes to build two new nuclear units.

[...]

The four announced projects in Texas may only be the tip of the iceberg.

TXU has indicated it may build more than just two new reactors and may place them at sites previously planned for the coal plants.

And according to the state's main power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, power companies have expressed interest in hooking up as much as 25,000 megawatts of nuclear-generated power to the grid. That's some 14,000 megawatts more than have been announced.

Our CEO, Skip Bowman, had some thoughts on this issue when he addressed the Houston Forum back in January 2006:

In 2004, South Texas Project and Comanche Peak produced about 11 percent of the state’s electricity.

Replacing the South Texas Project (STP) and Comanche Peak generating capacity with fossil fuel sources would mean an additional 31.6 million tons of carbon dioxide. That’s the equivalent of emissions from six out of every seven cars in the state.

By building emission-free generating capacity such as new nuclear power plants to meet growing electricity demand, we reduce the clean-air compliance costs that otherwise would fall on other types of generating capacity that do produce emissions. Nuclear power plants create headroom underneath emissions caps for the industrial sector and for transportation, and to allow continued economic growth.

To the extent we build new nuclear power plants, we also reduce the demands placed on natural gas supply. This time last year, as many of you know, the Texas Institute for the Advancement of Chemical Technology proposed construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Texas Gulf Coast region. That study was inspired, in part, by the desire to free up natural gas supplies used in the electric sector for hard-pressed industrial users.

The idea deserves your consideration.

Looks like the state was listening. For more, see the WSJ.com Energy Roundup. Related news, here.