New reactor build at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland hits the wall on foreign ownership ban

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff determined today that UniStar Nuclear Corporation is "ineligible" to proceed with the proposed new construction of the  Calvert Cliffs Unit 3 reactor in Lusby, Maryland because the applying corporation is determined to be 100% foreigned owned, controlled and dominated by the French government.  The original US domestic application partner, Constellation Energy of Annapolis, MD dropped out of UniStar in October 2010 because of the mounting cost of increasingly risky financing even with an $8 billion in federal loan guarantee. Electricitie de France, now the sole owner, has been looking for a new domestic partner without success.  Foreign ownership and domination of a US reactor is prohibited under federal law via the Atomic Energy Act.

UniStar Corporation (aka the French Government) was hoping to incorporate a subcommittee of US nationals to claim compliance but has failed to convince anybody. So its back to the drawing boards.