CONSULTING

Pending Combined Operating License Applications (COLA)
As of May 2016, the NRC had received 18 Combined Operating License Applications (COLA) for a
total of 28 reactors. All were submitted between July 2007 and June 2009. Ten of the 18 COLAs
were subsequently withdrawn or the application has been suspended.
In February 2016, NRC issued a combined license to the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating
Company to construct two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. 485 However, at that time, the CEO of
the company stated: “Having these licenses puts us in a position to move the project forward when
economic conditions support construction [emphasis added] (…) current sustained low natural gas
prices and Texas electric market conditions do not support starting construction at this time”. 486
The United States operates the world’s largest nuclear fleet. Including the most recent unit
Watts Bar-2, there are 100 operating reactors, but the future seems to be only downhill. In the
long run, 2016 might not be remembered as the year that Watts Bar-2 came online, but as the last
year that the country’s nuclear fleet numbered three digits. The rate of decline in the number of
operating reactors might be reduced through bailouts or other government interventions, but it
looks like governmental and other officials are quickly becoming aware of the unsustainable
nature of most nuclear plants.
Asia
China Focus
Although China embarked on nuclear power relatively late in comparison with other countries
with large nuclear generation capacities, it has been constructing reactors at a rapid pace. As of
mid-2016, there are 34 operating reactors with a total net capacity of 29.4 GW. Eight new units
were connected to the grid in 2015, 80 percent of the world total of 10 startups. A further
21 reactors, with a total capacity of 21.5 GW, are under construction. Nuclear power contributed
161.2 TWh—a 30 percent increase over 2014—which constituted 3 percent of all electricity
generated in China in 2015, up from 2.4 percent in 2014. 487 In comparison, wind energy
contributed 186.3 TWh in 2015, an increase of 22 percent. 488 Solar energy’s output went up even
more, by 55.6 percent over the previous year, to contribute 39.2 TWh in 2015. 489 Although the
share of nuclear power in overall electricity generation has increased, the average utilization
485 NRC, “Combined License Holders for New Reactors”, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Updated
24 February 2016, see http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col-holder.html, accessed 16 June 2016.
486 Ryan West, “NRC green lights STP licenses for Units 3 & 4: Construction on hold until market
conditions improve”, Palacios Beacon, 17 February 2016, see www.palaciosbeacon.com/02-17-16.pdf,
accessed 16 June 2016.
487 IAEA, “Nuclear Power Reactors in the World—2016 Edition”, Vienna, May 2016, see wwwpub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/RDS_2-36_web.pdf,
accessed 16 June 2016.
488 GWEC, “Global Wind Report—Annual Market Update 2015”, April 2016, see www.gwec.net/wpcontent/uploads/vip/GWEC-Global-Wind-2015-Report_April-2016_22_04.pdf,
accessed 16 June 2016.
489 Kimfeng Wong, “Coal Loses More Market Share to Nuclear, Renewables”, NIW, 19 February 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 138 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016