Five U.S. nuclear plants make DOE loan short-list

[bananas]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN1846256420090218?sp=true

UPDATE 1-Five U.S. nuclear plants make DOE loan short-list
Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:54pm GMT

(Adds fourth name on short-list and cost estimate for Calvert Cliffs, paragraphs 3-6, 11)

By Eileen O'Grady

HOUSTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The field of U.S. companies competing for $18.5 billion in government-backed loans to build new nuclear plants has narrowed to five from about 14 last year, company sources said.

Officials with two projects in Texas, one in Maryland and one in South Carolina confirmed they were still in the running for a piece of U.S. Energy Department loan backing, which could be crucial to spurring the first round of nuclear plant building in more than 30 years.

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With a cost of $5 billion to $12 billion for each new reactor, depending on size and design, the DOE program is expected to fund only a few projects, but the guarantee is seen as critical to obtaining financing.

The DOE process will determine which new reactors get built, NRG Chief Executive David Crane said last week. "Only two or three projects will qualify. We fully expect to be one," Crane said of the $8 billion South Texas expansion.

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