Proposal for Fermi 3 Draws 150 to Meeting
January 15, 2009
McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tom Henry, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
About 150 braved high winds and icy roads yesterday to give the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission their thoughts about a nuclear plant
that DTE Energy hasn't yet decided whether to build.
The $10 billion Fermi 3 construction project would be one of the
largest in Michigan's history. For now, it is the only new nuclear
plant considered for the Great Lakes region out of 26 under study
nationally.
DTE, which would put the reactor on its Fermi complex northeast
of Monroe, applied Sept. 18 for the license to become eligible for $300
million to $400 million in tax credits offered by the Bush Administration's
Energy Policy Act of 2005, which is providing $6 billion of incentives to
build reactors. Utilities had to file by Dec. 31.
Ron May, a DTE senior vice president and the project's manager,
said yesterday, "We're in the game. But we haven't committed yet to build."
Yesterday's meeting at Monroe County Community College was the
first of two.
The project could create 600 to 700 permanent jobs and temporary
employment for 2,000 to 3,000 construction workers.
A number of Monroe-area public officials played up those
statistics.
The utility is Monroe County's largest employer, providing a
substantial portion of the county's tax revenue. The utility has a
twin-reactor complex and a coal-fired power plant -- one of the
nation's largest -- on the outskirts of Monroe.
But Michael Keegan, who lives six miles from the Fermi complex,
said DTE should have made shareholders assume the project's financial
risk. Tax credits shift some of the burden to the public, he said.
Mr. Keegan and other activists said they believed the hearing was
premature, given that the regulatory agency acknowledged it has not
approved the type of reactor design the utility has selected. They questioned
why the meetings were held when the weather was so harsh that it kept some
people from attending.
Nancy Seubert, who coordinates the justice, peace, and
sustainability office within the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in
Monroe, said utilities have relied for too long on the Price-
Anderson Act that Congress passed in 1957. Like an insurance policy, the law covers
utilities for major accidents, but with federal tax dollars.
"If utilities need that kind of protection, shouldn't taxpayers
have it as well?" she asked.
Monroe Mayor Mark Worrell was one of several elected officials
and members of the business community who supported DTE's plans. "I
don't have any concerns about safety for a new Fermi," Mr. Worrell said.
Bill Morris, Monroe County Industrial Development Corp.
director, said the project could be a boon to southeastern Michigan's sagging
economy.
DTE spent $30 million and put more than 100,000 man hours into
its 17,000-page Fermi 3 license application, which is expected to
undergo four years of review by the regulatory agency.
The agency is giving the public until Feb. 9 to submit comments
about environmental issues. It has set a March 9 deadline for opponents to
request an intervention hearing.
More information about the licensing process is at
nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors.html.
DTE is considering a new breed of boiling-water reactor
designed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy expected to produce 1,500 megawatts of
electricity, roughly enough for 1.5 million homes. A single megawatt powers about
1,000 homes.
Fermi 2, a boiling-water reactor licensed to operate through
2025, generates 1,130 megawatts. Fermi 1 was an experimental reactor that
was shut down in 1972.
Contact Tom Henry at: [email protected] or 419-724-6079.