On December 14, 2007 Duke Power submitted a Combined Construction and Operating License to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with an announcement that it will spend $160 million in 2008 on the plant with a total cost of 5-6 billion dollars. Due to a slowdown in licensing and increase in costs, a federal license for what is estimated to be an $11 billion plant is not expected until 2016. Duke Energy will decide after that point whether to go forward with construction. In August 2017 Duke Energy announced that construction plans at the site had been put on an indefinite hold. But the company retains the rights to restart construction in the future.