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ALLENTOWN, PA-PPL Nuclear Development LLC, a subsidiary of locally based PPL Corp., has signed an agreement with an affiliate of Baltimore-based UniStar Nuclear Energy to prepare an application to obtain a license to construct and operate a new nuclear power plant near its existing Susquehanna nuclear units in Berwick. UniStar is a joint venture between Constellation Energy, also based in Baltimore, and EDF Group, a European energy company headquartered in Paris.

The application, based on Areva's US Evolutionary Power Reactor design, will be submitted to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of 2008. Although PPL has not yet decided to move forward with construction, the application time frame helps preserve the potential for federal production tax credits and federal loan guarantees under the US Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Paris-based Areva has US headquarters in Bethesda, MD. Its EPR design utilizes pressurized water reactor technology, which is long proven, according to Bryce Shriver, the PPL principal who oversees development of the company's nuclear strategy. In a statement, he also says the design "includes robust safety systems." Contracting with UniStar also gives PPL the opportunity to be part of a standardized fleet of US EPR facilities that share the same design and operating procedures.