NRC approves first nuclear license since 1978

Friday, 10 February 2012 10:24

News & Events - Engineering News

February 10, 2012

Federal officials lent their approval this week to the first new nuclear power facility in the U.S. in more than three decades, potentially paving the way for other plants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4 to 1 Thursday in favor of granting a license to build and operate two reactors at a nuclear power plant in Georgia. The NRC has not administered such a license since 1978, and experts said it could signal a new start for the nuclear power sector, which has taken a beating in public opinion in the wake of the ongoing recovery efforts at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The NRC awarded the license to the Southern Company, which plans to add the two nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear plant in August. The power provider is working with a number of other partners that serve municipal utilities and electric cooperatives to complete the project, The New York Times reports.

Southern Company has already spent approximately $4 billion on the project. The utility has dug a foundation and laid water pipes in anticipation of the nuclear licenses. Experts said officials at other utilities in the U.S. are closely watching Southern Company's progress as it works to complete the installation of the nuclear reactors.

Power providers are mulling whether to expand their nuclear power facilities, but they are wary of the high costs that plagued the last round of construction that occurred in the 1960s through the 1980s, according to the Times. Southern Company is investing an estimated $14 billion in the expansion of its nuclear power plant and company executives said the two new reactors could be in service by 2016 and 2017.

Public sentiment toward nuclear power tends to ebb and flow, according to experts, with events such as Fukushima and Three Mile Island triggering a backlash. Germany said last year it plans to completely decommission its nuclear facilities over the next decade in response to the public health concerns spurred by Fukushima, but other nations rely heavily on nuclear power. France, for example, derives roughly 80 percent of all of its energy from nuclear facilities.

U.S. power providers endeavoring to comply with federal air quality regulations are waiting to see whether the construction of the new reactors is cost efficient. Many utilities are working to expand their energy generating portfolios in the wake of the potential closing of coal-fired power plants throughout the nation. Paul Bowers, the president of Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, said that the NRC's decision to approve the license could spur a nuclear renaissance.

"It is a landmark, landmark achievement," Bowers said, noting the utility applied for the permit roughly four years ago.

The lone dissenting vote among NRC officials came from Chairman Gregoy Jaczko. Reuters reports Jaczko has close ties to congressional Democrats and has publicly warned about the potential dangers of constructing new nuclear power facilities - particularly in the wake of the meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi's reactors.

"I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened," he noted. "I believe it requires some type of binding commitment that the Fukushima enhancements that are currently projected and currently planned to be made would be made before the operation of the facility."

Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey supported Jaczko's decision, affirming the NRC "abdicated its duty to protect public health and safety, just to make construction faster and cheaper for the nuclear industry."

Southern Power plans to install AP1000 reactors built by Westinghouse Electric at the nuclear facility. The NRC approved the standardized engine design in December.