PRINCETON, NJ; April 19, 2011— Recognizing the diminished prospects for the South Texas
Project nuclear development project as a result of the ongoing nuclear incident in Japan, NRG
Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) today announced it will write down its investment in the development
of South Texas Project units 3&4. NRG further announced that, while it will cooperate with and
support its current partners and any prospective future partners in attempting to develop STP 3&4
successfully, NRG will not invest additional capital in the STP development effort.
“The tragic nuclear incident in Japan has introduced multiple uncertainties around new nuclear
development in the United States which have had the effect of dramatically reducing the probability
that STP 3&4 can be successfully developed in a timely fashion,” said David Crane, President and
CEO of NRG. “We continue to believe both in the absolute necessity of a U.S. nuclear renaissance
and that STP 3&4 is the best new nuclear development project in the country bar none. However,
the extraordinary challenges facing U.S. nuclear development in the present circumstance and the
very considerable financial resources expended by NRG on the project over the past five years make
it impossible for us to justify to our shareholders any further financial participation in the
development of the STP project.”
As a result, NRG expects to record a first-quarter 2011 pretax charge of approximately $481 million,
for the impairment of all of the net assets of Nuclear Innovation North America (NINA), the
Company’s nuclear development joint venture with Toshiba American Nuclear Energy Corp.
(TANE). The write down consists of $331 million of NINA net assets funded by NRG along with
$150 million of net investment contributed by TANE.
As previously announced last month, NINA suspended indefinitely all detailed engineering work
and other pre-construction activities and, as a result, dramatically reduced the project workforce.
NINA, going forward, will be focused solely on securing a combined operating license from the
NRC and on obtaining a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, two assets that are
absolutely essential to the success of any future project development. TANE will be responsible for
funding ongoing costs to continue the licensing process. In concurrence with the substantial
reduction in NINA’s project workforce, and to support NINA’s reduced scope of work, NRG
expects to incur one-time costs, related to a contribution to NINA, which are not expected to
exceed $20 million. These costs will be incurred, and expensed, primarily in the second quarter 2011.