Mitsubishi plant design sent to NRC

GLEN ROSE, Texas, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- North Texas is moving closer to getting new nuclear power plants.

On Monday, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. applied for certification of its US-APWR nuclear plant design with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU Corp., might use the design for its Comanche Peak plant in Glen Rose, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Mitsubishi officials said they will also help Energy Future prepare its application for the new plant. Last year TXU told the NRC it would file the application in mid-2008. Since then, the power company was purchased by private equity companies.

Energy Future spokesman Tom Kleckner said the company isn't ready to give a more exact date for submitting the application but the company hopes to have two new, 1,700 megawatt reactors online by 2020.

The NRC encouraged manufacturers to apply for standard design certification to speed the process of building new reactors. In the past, the U.S. nuclear industry had no standard designs and the NRC process of certifying a new plant took years.