Members of the Maryland Chamber’s Board of Directors visited Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant last week and received an outstanding presentation about a proposed new nuclear unit on a site adjacent to the two existing units.
The Chamber has expressed its support for a nuclear joint venture between EDF Group and Constellation Energy and the potential construction of a new 1,600-megawatt pressurized water reactor that would deliver enough emission-free electricity to power 1.3 million homes. You can view our recent letter to the editor here.
“Calvert Cliffs has long been a driver of the Maryland economy, providing jobs and a reliable supply of emission-free power generation in the state,” said Maryland Chamber President/CEO Kathy Snyder, CCE. “The addition of a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs would add thousands of new jobs in Maryland and deliver additional baseload electricity for Maryland’s businesses.”
In addition to helping Maryland meet its energy and climate change goals, the privately funded initiative to build a new nuclear unit would be one of the largest industrial development projects in Maryland history, resulting in 4,000 construction jobs and 400 permanent operational positions. The Nuclear Energy Institute estimates that nuclear power plants pay 36 percent more than the average salaries for a local area, and that the average nuclear power plant generates $430 million in sales of goods and services in the local community and almost $40 million in total labor income.
“Maryland’s business community knows the value of having a reliable baseload power source in the state, and recognizes the benefits that a major new infrastructure project and generation asset will bring to the local economy,” said Michael J. Wallace, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Constellation Energy. “Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant continues to be vital to Maryland’s business community, and the potential addition of a new unit at the site will reduce the state’s reliance on out-of-state energy suppliers and, over time, help Maryland’s business and residential consumers better manage the cost of electricity.”
The Board visited the existing 1,735-megawatt nuclear power plant, which first went online in 1975, and which is recognized internationally for its high level of performance. Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 set a world record this year for pressurized water reactors by operating non-stop for more than 692 days, and in 2008 had a record capacity factor, a measure of efficiency, of 101.37 percent. The site was also recognized by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration with a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star level rating, the highest safety rating for employers in Maryland and nationwide.
Learn more about the Calvert Cliffs 3 project here.
