Dominion eying new reactor at Va. plant

The Richmond company hopes to build a third reactor at its North Anna Power Station, Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion chairman, president and chief executive, said during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"We're trying very hard to build one, and I think we will," he said on the Monday program, adding that he expects the reactor at the Louisa County facility to go on line in 2016. The last reactor to go online was Tennessee's Watts Bar reactor in 1996. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not granted a new construction license since 1978.

In November, the company filed an application for a combined operating license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the additional reactor. Federal regulators already have approved an early site permit for the reactor at the plant about 60 miles north of Richmond.

The company had not committed itself to building the reactor at the time of the application, but officials said they want the option of nuclear power as energy needs grow.

Farrell said people's attitudes about nuclear energy are changing because they're concerned about rising prices for fossil-fuel-based energy and global warming.

"Right now, more than 50 percent of the nation's electricity comes from coal. That's problematic, as we all know," Farrell said. "The country is going to have to move in the direction of nuclear power."

Dominion's application was opposed by several environmental groups. They said that another reactor is unnecessary at a time when utilities should be exploring alternative energy sources, and that it would present a new target for terrorists.

The Lake Anna area, where the North Anna Power Station is situated, is bordered by Spotsylvania, Louisa and Orange counties. Surrounded by thousands of homes, it is a recreational draw in central Virginia.

The company has said the operation of the new reactor would create 750 permanent jobs and thousands of jobs during the four-year construction process. It also could generate enough electricity to power 375,000 homes at peak demands.