Posted on 08/20/2005 8:01:38 AM PDT by snowsislander
WAYNESBORO, Ga., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Nuclear Operating Company, on behalf of the co-owners of the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, has officially informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it has selected the site to evaluate for possible future nuclear generating units.
In the summer of 2006, the company will file either an application for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at Vogtle or pre-Combined Operating License (COL) information that would ultimately become a part of a complete COL application.
Plant Vogtle is owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the City of Dalton. It is operated by Southern Nuclear for the co-owners.
This notification does not mean that the co-owners have decided to build a new unit at the plant site. This is another step in the process necessary to obtain permits should the owners decide that a new nuclear unit is the best option for meeting the need for additional generation.
The streamlined licensing process for nuclear units allows for seeking regulatory approval at various stages. These are: early approval of standard designs (Design Certification), which is obtained by reactor vendors; the ESP; and the COL. The work for an ESP can also be done as a part of the COL process instead of as a separate application.
In addition to these and other permits, Georgia Power would need certification approval of the Georgia Public Service Commission for any new generation resource.
Selection of the Vogtle site does not preclude other sites within Southern Company's service area from being considered for future nuclear units.
While the need for additional base load generation is not expected for several years, it takes many years to prepare the ESP and COL filings and go through the actual permitting process.
Letting the NRC know of the company's plans to file an ESP and COL will help ensure that the agency has sufficient resources for the application review. Southern Nuclear is making the notification to help ensure timely review of an application -- not to give notice of intent to actually construct a new unit.
The licensing process, once completed, gives the permit holder the option to construct and operate units on a specific site; it does not obligate the co-owners to build.
Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state's 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power's rates are below the national average and its 2 million customers are in all but six of Georgia's 159 counties.
Cool- and about time. Plant Hatch in Baxley ( about 2 towns west of here ) has done nothing but pump out cheap, pollution-free power for about 30 years. We need more of this.
2nd that. Bump.
Would be much smarter move than putting plant at Savannah River Site.
I've been trying to remember to keep an eye on Grand Gulf in Mississippi -- I think it has advanced more than any other projects presently in the licensing process -- but I was pleased to see this new discussion pop up about Vogtle. There's also some talk I believe about new work at Savannah River also.
Good move. All nuclear plants should expand. Nuclear Energy is everything the greens beg and whine for and more yet the silly bastards fight it tooth and nail. Go figure.
Great news for Georgia!
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