Toshiba, GE hope to build nuclear plant in U.S.

Toshiba Corp. and General Electric Co. have applied for permission with the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct a feasibility study on building a nuclear plant in Alabama, company sources said Sunday.

The two electric giants are hoping to land the contract following a Bush administration decision to once again support the construction of nuclear power plants, according to the sources.

Building of new nuclear power plants in the U.S. has been suspended since the major accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979.

The Bush administration is promoting the use of nuclear energy as a means of reducing America's dependence on Middle East oil.

Toshiba is eyeing the U.S. market because demand for construction of new nuclear power plants and reactors in Japan is stagnant.

According to the plan, Toshiba and GE will work in a consortium with four more companies -- the Tennessee Valley Authority public power firm, contractor Bechtel Corp., enriched uranium fuel supplier USEC Inc. and Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas LLC, a joint venture set up by GE, Toshiba and Hitachi Ltd.

The TVA has applied for permission with the Department of Energy as the main body conducting the feasibility study. If government approval is obtained, the consortium would begin the study for installing an advanced boiling water reactor in Alabama with an output in excess of 1 million kilowatts. Total construction costs would be around $ 3 billion.