French firm Areva getting ready for Calvert Cliffs 3 

Posted: 9:02 pm Thu, November 19, 2009
By Danielle Ulman
Daily Record Business Writer

When — and if — UniStar Nuclear Energy gives the go ahead to build Calvert Cliffs 3, French design and construction firm Areva wants to be ready.

Areva, which has partnered with UniStar’s Electricite de France on other nuclear projects, held a “supplier day” in Baltimore Thursday to identify potential vendors for the Lusby reactor. Interest in attending the event was so high that Areva had to upgrade to larger rooms within the Tremont Grand several times during the planning stages and turn some companies away. Representatives from more than 80 companies attended.

Areva executives said they wanted to meet with vendors to get an understanding of who makes what. Although UniStar has not won federal approval yet and construction would not begin for several years, Areva wanted a head start because it can take more than a year for a manufacturer to become qualified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to supply nuclear-related parts.

Michael W. Rencheck, president of Areva’s Bethesda-based North American business, said the company would like for 90 percent of supplies used on its U.S. reactors to be manufactured here. Qualified firms based in Maryland will likely receive special attention, he said.

“One, it helps that the supply is close, that the supply is tangible,” he said. “It helps because the folks from the state realize the benefit from the effort ongoing in the state.”

When Areva is not able to locate suppliers within the state, it will start to branch out regionally, Rencheck said. Maryland will benefit from 4,000 construction jobs because all of the major players are based in the state.

UniStar, the company applying for the license to build Calvert Cliffs 3, is made up of EDF and Baltimore’s Constellation Energy Group Inc. EDF is moving its U.S. headquarters to Maryland after the state approved its purchase of half of Constellation’s nuclear business. Areva’s U.S. engineering partner, Bechtel Power Corp., has offices in Frederick.

Areva plans for all of its nuclear reactors to look alike, so manufacturers that work on one project could work on the next.

“Our emphasis is if you can become a certified supplier, you’re in our supply chain permanently,” Rencheck said. “We use you in all U.S. projects and you’ll also go on the supply chain list for all global projects.”

Building a new reactor requires hundreds of different products to be made, from steel plates to wire to modules, valves and pumps. Areva is building four reactors worldwide and has others in the works. Making it onto Areva’s supply chain list could mean years of work for a manufacturer.

“The whole strategy is a smart one, where the premise is they’ll all look the same,” said Paul Waterloo, vice president of Applied Energy Services Inc. in Chicago, which is working with Areva on Watts Bar II, a nuclear reactor under construction in Tennessee.

Waterloo’s company has a contract to provide $3 million worth of chillers to the $1.8 billion project, which was 80 percent complete in 1988 before construction was halted. Construction resumed in 2007. Experts estimate the cost of building Calvert Cliffs 3 ranges from $5 billion to $12 billion.

Some companies, like Irex Corp., a Lancaster, Pa.-based contracting firm, have years of experience in nuclear projects dating to the U.S. nuclear boom in the 1970s and 1980s. Irex, which is certified by the NRC, wants to supply insulation for the area outside of the reactor.

For those less versed in nuclear power projects, Project Assistance Corp. will walk manufacturers through the process of getting NRC certification. The California-based firm was in Baltimore to network with potential clients.

“They’re so new to the industry, they don’t know where to turn,” said Dennis Langston, a quality assurance director at the firm.

UniStar is on the U.S. Department of Energy’s shortlist to receive billions in federal loan guarantees. The company is waiting for DOE confirmation before it decides to build the reactor. UniStar has already spent $565 million on new nuclear expansion in the United States, according to spokeswoman Maureen Brown.