Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Reactor Talks Falter - NYTimes.com

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: October 9, 2010

"The decision would appear to kill the project unless Congress or the White House steps in. Constellation said in a letter to the Energy Department that the Office of Management and Budget was seeking a fee of $880 million on a guarantee of about $7.6 billion, which it said would doom the project, “or the economics of any nuclear project, for that matter.”

The fee is to compensate taxpayers for the risk of default. The company argues that because the plant’s model is being proven in Finland, France and China, and because it has a strong partner, Electricite"de France, the fee should be 1 to 2 percent."