Global Industry Leader Tapped to Provide Steam Turbine Generator Technology
for Advanced Design U.S. EPR Nuclear Plants
BALTIMORE and PARIS, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UniStar Nuclear
Energy (UNE), a joint venture between EDF and Constellation Energy (NYSE:
CEG), and Alstom, a global leader in power generation, today announced that
the companies have signed a letter of intent reflecting UNE's selection of
Alstom to supply a minimum of four turbine generators for UNE's planned
fleet of advanced-design nuclear plants in the United States.
"This agreement with Alstom gives us certainty in the global supply
chain that Unistar Nuclear Energy will have vital turbine components for
our first four U.S. EPRs," said George Vanderheyden, president and chief
executive officer of UniStar Nuclear Energy. "We selected Alstom because it
is the world's leading provider of nuclear steam turbine generators. With
its Arabelle technology, Alstom offers the most advanced and efficient
technology."
Vanderheyden further emphasized that a final decision to build the
first U.S. EPR has yet to be made but noted the agreement with Alstom
positions UNE to begin ordering steam turbine generators next year.
The agreement with Alstom follows Constellation Energy's announcement
in July that it had formed a strategic joint venture with EDF, the world's
largest operator of nuclear plants, to create UNE to develop and deploy a
fleet of new nuclear power plants in the United States. UNE is itself an
expansion of the partnership between Constellation Energy and AREVA
announced in September 2005. The joint venture's prime reactor technology,
which is already under construction in Europe, is AREVA's U.S. Evolutionary
Power Reactor (EPR)
Philippe Joubert, Alstom executive vice president and president of
Alstom Power Systems, said the agreement solidifies UniStar Nuclear
Energy's position as a leader in the U.S. nuclear renaissance. He said
Alstom will allocate the resources that will enable it to support UniStar
Nuclear Energy's December 2015 target for completing its first nuclear
power plant.
"We are pleased to have been selected as Unistar's supplier of choice
for essential turbine technology," said Mr. Joubert. "As the world's
largest supplier of nuclear turbine systems, we bring both experience and a
history of innovation that make us the right partner at the right time for
UniStar."
Alstom, with operations in 70 countries, brings international expertise
and extensive knowledge of local markets as a fully integrated provider of
clean, efficient and technologically advanced power generation solutions in
all key energy markets (including coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydro and
wind. The world's No. 1 supplier of nuclear turbine systems, Alstom has
installed more than 178 units worldwide, meaning that more than 30 percent
of the entire worldwide nuclear installed base uses Alstom equipment
About Alstom
Alstom (http://www.alstom.com) is a global leader in the world of power
generation and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative
and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train
and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and provides turnkey
integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety
of energy sources, including hydro, gas, coal and wind. About 25 percent of
the world's electricity produced is generated by Alstom technology. The
Group employs 65,000 people in 70 countries, and had orders of euro 19
billion in 2006-07
About UniStar
UniStar Nuclear Energy (http://www.unistarnuclear.com), a strategic joint
venture between Constellation Energy and EDF, is powering the nuclear
renaissance in North America through industry leadership, disciplined
business practices and effective risk-management. Based in Baltimore,
UniStar Nuclear Energy provides the licensing, construction and operating
services needed to support the expansion of clean, safe and sustainable
nuclear energy in the United States. UNE is an expansion of the pioneering
partnership established between Constellation Energy and Areva to develop
and deploy a fleet of standardized nuclear power plants based on the Areva
EPR technology.
About Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy (http://www.constellation.com), a FORTUNE 125 company
with 2006 revenues of $19.3 billion, is the nation's largest competitive
supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and
the nation's largest wholesale power seller. Constellation Energy also
manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy intensive industries
and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 78 generating units located
throughout the United States, totaling approximately 8,700 megawatts of
generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas
through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility
in Central Maryland.
About EDF
The EDF Group, one of the leaders in the energy market in Europe, is an
energy specialist that is active in all the businesses of electricity:
production, transport, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group
is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it has mainly
nuclear and hydraulic production facilities where 95 percent of the
electricity output involves no CO2 emissions. EDF operates over 1,200,000
km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and
around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is
involved in supplying energy and services to close to 40 million customers
around the world, including more than 28 million in France. The Group
generated consolidated sales of euro 58.9 billion in 2006, of which 42
percent was in Europe excluding France. Net income (Group share) stood at
euro 5.6 billion, with net income from ordinary operations at euro 4.2
billion. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the
CAC 40 index.
About AREVA
AREVA Inc. has manufacturing facilities in 41 countries and sales
network in more than 100. It offers customers reliable technological
solutions for carbon-free power generation and electricity transmission and
distribution. AREVA is the world leader in nuclear power and it has
invested $200 million in the U.S. EPR. AREVA's 61,000 employees are
committed to continuous improvement on a daily basis, making sustainable
development the focal point of the group's industrial strategy. AREVA,
headquartered in Bethesda, Md., USA, reported sales revenue of euro 5.3
billion the first half of 2007 and net income of euro 295 million for the
same period.
SOURCE Constellation Energy
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Related links:
http://www.constellation.com
http://www.alstom.com http://www.unistarnuclear.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/084087.html/
CONTACT:
Lori A. Vidil of UniStar Nuclear Energy,
+1-410-470-7433, Lori.A.Vidil@unistarnuclear.com; or Maureen
Brown of Constellation Energy, +1-410-470-7433,
Maureen.e.Brown@constellation.com; or Melina Georgitsis of Alstom
Power Systems, +1-860-938-0531,
Melina.A.Georgistis@power.alstom.com; or Andy Merrill,
andy.merrill@finsbury.com, or Steven Goldberg,
steven.goldberg@finsbury.com, both of Finsbury Group, +1-
212-303-7600
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