Alliance of 13 US reactors is formed

Following more than a year of development, STARS Alliance LLC has achieved legal identity after the chief nuclear officers of seven US plants added their signatures to official paperwork. The alliance will work together to improve operational, regulatory and economic performance.

The independently owned plants represented are all modern Westinghouse pressurised water reactors located within the same Nuclear Regulatory Commission administrative region. Despite not being part of a fleet, the STARS Alliance allows them to "leverage natural synergies" in order to "make  performance as a whole better than could be individually achieved," according to its mission statement.

Members of the alliance include Callaway Energy Center (Missouri), Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant (Texas), Diablo Canyon Power Plant (California), Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Arizona), San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (California) South Texas Nuclear Operating Company (Texas) and Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Kansas). Jim Becker, former site vice-president at Diablo Canyon, was appointed as the first STARS Alliance president in May, while Tod Moser serves as executive director.

Becker expressed his excitement as papers were filed with the state of Delaware yesterday, noting that the "primary focus will be on initiatives and information sharing that benefit all member companies." The major hurdle for incorporation was cleared on 3 July, when the US Department of Justice gave its formal approval.

The alliance is the latest in a trend of integration amongst the US nuclear fleet. Last month Duke and Progress completed a merger that brought 12 nuclear reactors under one banner, while Exelon and Constellation finalised their merger in March, bringing common ownership interests to some 22 reactors.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News