Duke says plans for Ohio nuclear plant uncertain

Politicians trumpeted a possible nuclear power plant in southern Ohio on Thursday as though bulldozers were ready to start moving dirt any minute.

But licensing by regulators is years away, let alone construction and the thousands of jobs that look good on a politician's resume.

Duke Energy is taking the lead on the project, but a spokeswoman said there's no firm commitment by Duke or its partners to build a nuclear plant on the 3,700-acre Defense Department site in Piketon, about 80 miles east of Cincinnati. Duke is working with the Department of Energy as it evaluates the proposal, spokeswoman Rita Sipe said by phone from company headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

"What we are committed to is keeping this nuclear option available to the Midwest," she said.

Duke operates two nuclear plants in South Carolina and one in North Carolina and would bring its experience to the partnership, Sipe said. Areva, the French nuclear giant, would coordinate technical analyses, she said.

In a statement, Areva characterized the announcement as "the start of negotiations" to develop a nuclear reactor for America's first clean energy park on the site of the Cold War-era Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Other partners include USEC Inc., which is building a centrifuge uranium enrichment facility at the site, and UniStar Nuclear Energy, which is a joint venture of Constellation Energy and EDF Group. The partners don't know how big an ownership role each will assume.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Sen. George Voinovich and Rep. Jean Schmidt, both Republicans, were on hand Thursday for the announcement and hailed the creation of the Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance as a gateway to clean energy and a source of much-needed jobs and revenue in rural Appalachia.

"The project will revitalize the region's economy, further advance Ohio's nuclear infrastructure, help address our energy needs and be part of Ohio's solution to the challenge of climate change," Strickland said.

Ohio has two nuclear plants, one near Cleveland and one near Toledo, both owned by FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron.

"This plant will help us meet our goals of producing greenhouse energy," Voinovich said. "It's an exciting time."

Duke CEO Jim Rogers said the project could create 1,400 to 1,800 jobs during construction and 400 to 700 permanent jobs once online.

The alliance will seek DOE funding for the first phase of development. Sipe was unable to offer a timetable or cost estimate for completion but noted that Duke filed for a permit for an $11 billion nuclear plant in South Carolina in 2007 and does not expect to receive approval until possibly 2012.