UniStar’s application to build a fourth nuclear reactor at Nine Mile Point on Lake Ontario has been accepted by federal regulators. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission says its decision to accept UniStar Nuclear Energy’s application has no bearing on whether the agency will eventually approve the request. UniStar is seeking permission to build a 1600MW plant that would use an Evolutionary Power Reactor designed by the French-based company Areva. The Scriba site is one of four that Baltimore-based UniStar is considering for a new plant. Other sites are in Maryland, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Scriba, 40mi north of Syracuse, is home to the Nine Mile Point Unit 1 and Unit 2 reactors and the James A FitzPatrick plant.