Many hurdles remain as City Council still must approve decision
By Jim Forsyth
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 ( SAN ANTONIO )
San Antonio's municipally owned CPS Energy utility company agreed today to become a '20 to 25 percent' owner of two new planned nuclear power reactors at the South Texas Project nuclear facility in Matagorda County, and to participate in what utility acting General Manager Steve Bartley called 'the coming renaissance in nuclear energy,' 1200 WOAI news reports.
The vote by the utility is seen as a major step toward opening the door to widespread nuclear power expansion across the United States , and the proposed $13 billion project would make the nuclear plant on the Texas coast the largest nuclear power plant in terms of power generated in the nation.
"The question for us has always been not whether we need to invest or don't need to invest in additional energy, but what is the smartest investment we can make," Mayor Julian Castro said before the vote.
The plant's current majority owner, New Jersey based NRG Energy, Inc, has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two more 1300 megawatt nuclear generators at the plant, in the first full application to build new nuclear generating capacity in the United States since the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania 1979. The proposal would essentially double the plant's output.
NRG owns 44% of the existing STP, which consists of two reactors, with CPS Energy owning 40%, and the city of Austin owning 16%. Austin has already opted out of participating in the expansion of the plant.
The San Antonio City Council still has to sign off on the proposed investment, and nuclear power opponents like former city councilwoman Maria Berriozabal said opponents will 'descend' on council to encourage the elected officials to overturn the decision of the un-elected utility board.
"This is a very sad day for the people of San Antonio and for the country," Berriozabal said.
Many observers see the San Antonio decision as being a bellwether for the future of nuclear power, and activists on both sides of the issue converged on the city over the past year to drum up support for their cause.
Patrick Moore, the former leader of the environmental group Greenpeace and now a nuclear power supporter, said approval of the expanded STP in Texas could show officials nationwide that citizens support safe and clean nuclear power.
"You think China would build 25 to 50 more nuclear plants, like they are proposing to do, if they thought the technology was risky or exorbitantly priced," Moore said at a San Antonio pro nuclear rally.
Several members of the CPS Energy board said before they voted that they believe that expanded nuclear power is a 'needed bridge' to more sustainable technologies like wind, solar, and biomass which are currently not technically advanced enough to supply the needs of a growing economy.
"We are going to fundamentally move toward new technologies," CPS Energy board chair Aurora Geis said.
A final vote before city council is expected before the end of October.