Dive Brief:

• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed hearings and will authorize a combined license allowing DTE Electric Co. to construct the Fermi 3 project at a site in Michigan.
• The commission attached several conditions on the project, some involving lessons learned from Japan's Fukushima disaster, including requiring monitoring and analysis of the reactor’s steam dryer during initial plant startup.
• However, SNL notes the plant is unlikely to ever be constructed due to the low cost of natural gas and the method by which Michigan's regulatory structure allows for costs to be recouped.

Dive Insight:

Federal regulators will issue a license for DTE Electric to construct a new nuclear generator in Michigan, though odds are it will never be constructed. The NRC found the project met necessary safety and environmental requirements, and said it would "work to issue the [license] promptly."

The NRC has approved only a couple of new nuclear facilities in recent decades, and DTE's application dates back to 2008. In that time Japan experienced the Fukushima meltdown, leading to new restrictions and safety measures on reactors. Regulators attached several conditions to DTE's project, including "post-Fukushima requirements" for mitigation strategies and spent fuel pool instrumentation. NRC is also requiring monitoring of the steam dryer during initial plant startup, and a schedule for emergency plans and procedures.

But as SNL points out, the plant has little chance of being constructed in the near future. Michgan's regulatory structure precludes DTE recouping costs during construction, and cheap natural gas means the plant may not be economical. 

While analysts question the plant's future, a DTE spokesman told SNL the company is "keeping the option open for long-term planning purposes."