NEI Nuclear Notes

Add Mark Ayers, President of the Building & Construction Trades Department , AFL-CIO, to those supporting the creation of a " Clean Energy Investment Bank ." At the NEA conference last week, Ayers said, “Our primary mission [during the current Congress] is to secure an extension of the loan guarantee program to ‘kick start’ the renewal of nuclear power generation in this country.” He also expressed the desire to explore ways to advance the concept of a “clean energy bank” that would help finance construction of capital-intensive energy projects, including nuclear plants. The Clean Energy Investment Bank Act of 2008 was introduced by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and is co-sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

At the BCTD conference , it was announced today that the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department had committed to negotiate a project labor agreement with San Francisco-based Bechtel to construct a proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland. From the Press Release, Under the agreement, to be signed by the end of 2008, the BCTD will commit to provide, qualified, skilled, craft workers to the Calvert Cliffs project, and Bechtel will commit to provide fair wages, fringe benefits, and working conditions for all craft workers. The proposed plant would create 4,000 new jobs during peak construction and 360 permanent jobs once the new reactor is operational. Michael Wallace , President and CEO of Constellation Energy , has targeted Dec. 2008 as the groundbreaking date for Calvert #3.