WASHINGTON, May 24 (UPI) -- A detailed 10-month study of a proposed new-generation nuclear power reactor project in Alabama was launched Monday.
The Energy Department said the study would help the Tennessee Valley Authority determine if it would feasible to build a commercial nuclear generating plant in the next decade on a site near Hollywood, Ala.
The $4.25 million study will look at plans to build two Advance Boiling Water Reactors that would generate more than 2,600 megawatts of electricity. The design, which was certified in 1997, is in use in Japan. There are also ABWR units slated for Taiwan.
The expansion of nuclear power has been touted by the Bush administration as a necessary step to increase U.S. electricity supplies without a corresponding increase in emissions of greenhouse gases, mercury and other pollutants.
