Real Estate Developments are helping create an "Emerging Market" in the Calhoun County - Matagorda Bay area and is sparking Interest in Second Home Ownership, Rentals and Tourism
In an article By R.A. Dyer of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, we are informed that Texas power generators may have up to eight new nuclear projects.
It's likely that some of the plants will never get built, and the permit process and construction would take about a decade.
But whether Texas ends up with two more reactors or eight, it is clear that a nuclear awakening is under way. Largely spurred by new loan guarantees and other federal incentives, plus a new regulatory scheme in Washington, companies are floating plans and partnering with overseas firms on construction and design.
Serious questions remain. For instance, no solution has been found for the radioactive byproducts of nuclear energy, which can remain hazardous not for just hundreds of years, but for thousands or even tens of thousands.
The construction costs can also be daunting. Already, detractors are warning that the new plants would be much more expensive than advertised. The Sierra Club is against the plants and others will likely join in on the debate.
The Plants
Texas is home to four nuclear reactors at two sites -- two at Luminant's Comanche Peak site at Glen Rose, and two at NRG's South Texas Project, in the Matagorda Bay area. The Comanche Peak reactors came on line in 1990 and 1993; the South Texas reactors came on line in 1988 and 1999.
Under current plans, Luminant and NRG would more than double their nuclear output by building two more reactors apiece adjacent to their current facilities.
NRG submitted its federal application in September 2007 for what the company says will be an $8 billion project.
The NRG application, which is being delayed by regulatory questions, is the only one for a Texas plant pending at the commission.
Two more companies could also become nuclear players: Amarillo Power, a company formed by developer George Chapman; and Exelon, which has floated proposals to build units in Matagorda or Victoria counties.
Operators of the Texas power grid predict that Texas' population will grow by 6 million by 2016 and that the state's energy needs will grow accordingly. Moreover, several older power generation plants are expected to shut down in coming years.
Environmentalists say the state can align supply and demand through conservation, energy efficiency and more aggressive use of alternative power sources, such as wind and solar. Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen, warns of more cost overruns with nuclear power, and of unacceptable pollution with coal.
Critics note that the Comanche Peak plant, the last nuclear facility built in the United States, took two decades to construct and cost about $11 billion, 12 times more than anticipated.
"More efficient lighting, more efficient air conditioning, smarter electronic controls and more efficient building codes," Smith said, enumerating a few conservation efforts the state could pursue to avoid building more nuclear and coal-fired plants. He cited research from an environmental group that indicates that those steps, along with more aggressive use of renewable energy, would provide Texas with enough power through 2030.
Regulatory attorney Jim Boyle questions whether conservation efforts and new renewable energy, by themselves, would be enough to meet the state's future needs. But he said that leaves only three other options -- more nuclear power, more coal-fired plants, or more gas-fired plants -- and each comes with its own unique set of problems.
"With nukes, the big problem is nuclear waste," said Boyle, a former director of a consumer watchdog agency. "It was also tremendously expensive in the 1980s and they had a lot of mistakes being made with contracting and design flaws."
He said the problem with gas-fired plants is the expense and volatility of the fuel.
"And I don't think you'll see a lot of movement toward coal unless they can make it cleaner than it is today," he said.
NUCLEAR PLAYERS IN TEXAS
Amarillo Power, in partnership with Maryland-based UniStar Nuclear Energy, proposes building two so-called evolutionary power reactors, which can produce 1,600 megawatts of power. According to information from the NRC, the reactors include a double-walled containment area and a "core catcher" that contains and cools core materials in the event of a severe accident relating to a reactor vessel failure. The first EPR unit is under construction in Finland, and another is planned in France.
NRG Energy, the state's second-largest energy provider after Luminant, has submitted an application to build two units at the current site of the South Texas Project, in the Matagorda Bay area. They are of the advanced boiling water reactor style, built by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. They would be 1,350 megawatts apiece. This project is the farthest along, with NRG being the only Texas Company to have submitted its application to the NRC. Cost: $8 billion for both units, according to the company.
Exelon, a Chicago-based company, has said it might build two units -- possibly in Matagorda or Victoria County. The units would be economic and simplified boiling water reactors from GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, according to the company. Exelon says it will file its application in September, although it has not decided whether to proceed with construction.
Pros
Unlike coal and gas-fired plants, nuclear plants create no harmful greenhouse gases associated with global warming.
Nuclear power plants provide so-called base load generation -- that is, nuclear plants can continue running around the clock and provide a stable source of power. Nuclear fuel is relatively cheap.
Cons
Highly radioactive byproducts from nuclear reactors can remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years. There is a move afoot to create a nuclear waste dump in the Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, although that project remains stymied in Congress. Critics warn of a great potential risk when transporting dangerous radioactive waste to the site.
Nuclear construction is expensive and, critics say, so far impractical without taxpayer help.
Uranium mining can harm the environment and poses a potential public health risk.
BY THE NUMBERS
20 percent: The percentage of the country's electricity that comes from nuclear power plants.
13.4 percent: The proportion of electricity generated within the Texas power grid that comes from nuclear reactors.
3.5 million: The number of homes that can be powered by the state's four existing nuclear reactors.
500: The number of people employed by a single reactor: 350 technicians for operations and maintenance, 110 chemical, mechanical and civil engineers and 40 nuclear engineers.
All the talk of billions in construction and new jobs pouring into area has sparked interest in two large developments in the Calhoun County - Matagorda Bay area.
The first of which is:
The Sanctuary at Costa Grande:
The Sanctuary at Costa Grande is one of the newest planned, gated Intracoastal communities on the Texas Gulf Coast. Located on the unspoiled eastern coast of Texas, approximately 125 miles from Houston and approximately 160 miles from San Antonio and Austin, nestled in nature, is a wildlife sanctuary with a lush array of diverse plants and animals - on land and in water.
The Sanctuary at Costa Grande: is located in Port O’Connor, Texas
Beachside
Site clearing construction is underway on the first two phases of residential redevelopment of the former 1,200-acre Camp Hulen site in Palacios. This is the largest residential project ever planned in Matagorda County. Camp Hulen was a former Texas National Guard training camp and WW II military base that closed 60 years ago. Two sides of the site front Tres Palacios Bay and Turtle Bay.
Phase I of the residential redevelopment will be called "Beach Side". It will consist of 374 single-family residential homes, most of which will front on Tres Palacios Bay or Turtle Bay. Phase II will consist of interior canal front homes with water access to the two bays. It will contain a magnificent pool.
There certainly is a lot of activity and planning going on in the area, from which one can only draw one conclusion: The Calhoun County and Matagorda Bay area is an emerging market with unlimited potential to become a shining star on the
Texas Gulf Coast. Its close proximity to Houston and stark natural beauty won’t go unnoticed for long.
Economic Benefits of New Plants are helping make the Calhoun County and Matagroda Bay area - an
"emerging market value"
Nuclear plants contribute substantially to state and local economies, both in direct spending and in economic activity generated by the presence of the plant and its employees.
Contributions of the Average Nuclear Plant
• employs 1,400 to 1,800 people during construction (with peak employment as high as 2,400)
• employs 400 to 700 people long-term, at salaries typically substantially higher than the average salaries in the local area
• creates economic activity that generates 400 to 700 additional jobs locally
• produces approximately $430 million annually in expenditures for goods, services and labor, and through subsequent spending from the plant and employees
• provides annual state and local tax revenue of more than $20 million, benefiting schools, roads and other state and local infrastructure
• provides annual federal tax payments of $75 million.
Fact sheet on economic contributions
Related Articles
Texas Needs New Nuclear Plants to Sustain Economic Growth and Improve Environment
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_July_27/ai_n19393648
ABC Story on Sparking the Matagorda Bay area future
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/in_focus&id=5946394