Southern utilities apply for new nuclear licenses

subscribe

Two utility groups, including units of Southern Co and SCANA Corp, said they filed applications for separate licenses to build and operate new nuclear reactors in Georgia and South Carolina to meet growing demand for electricity.

Southern Nuclear Operating Co said it filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a combined construction and operating license (COL) to build two new reactors at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, 105 miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina.

Vogtle is owned by Southern's largest utility, Georgia Power, and three public power agencies: Oglethorpe Power Corp, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.

SCANA's South Carolina Electric & Gas Co (SCE&G) unit and Santee Cooper, a state-owned utility, filed a COL application for a license for up to two reactors at the Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, 25 miles northwest of Columbia.

The filings were the eight and ninth applications submitted to the NRC after a three-decade lapse in U.S. nuclear construction. The NRC's review will take three to four years. By 2010, the agency expects to receive as many as 22 COL applications for 33 new reactors.

Utilities are pursuing new nuclear generation to take advantage of financial incentives included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and growing concern about carbon-dioxide emissions, blamed for climate change.

Southern and SCANA indicated they will use Toshiba Corp's Westinghouse AP1000 technology. The NRC certified the AP1000 design after nearly 20 years of analysis, Southern said.

Each AP 1000 reactor can generate about 1,100 megawatts. One megawatt supplies about 500 homes in the South.

Neither Southern nor SCANA gave a price estimate for their proposals. However, other utilities have estimated the cost of adding two new AP1000 reactors at $12 billion to $14 billion in filings with state regulators in Florida.

"We expect demand for electricity in the Southeast, specifically in Georgia, to increase significantly by 2015 and beyond," said Southern Nuclear president Barnie Beasley, who is expected to retire later this year.

In addition to NRC licenses, the utilities need numerous other regulatory approvals before deciding whether to move ahead.

Georgia Power is also soliciting bids for power needed by 2016-2017 through the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Earlier this year, SCE&G said it delayed its NRC filing while studying other generation options due to skyrocketing costs for projects requiring large amounts of steel and concrete, major components of nuclear plants.

The South Carolina utilities also said nuclear power is needed to supply growing demand and meet more stringent emission regulation. "We're confident that new nuclear is the right decision for South Carolina," said Kevin Marsh, SCE&G president, in a statement.

Related News

motor testing training

Electric Motor Testing Training

TORONTO - Our 12-Hour Electric Motor Testing Training live online instructor-led course introduces students to the basics of on-line and off-line motor testing techniques.

September 10-11 , 2020 - 10:00 am - 4:30 pm ET

Our course teaches students the leading cause of motor failure. Electric motors fail. That is a certainty. And unexpectded motor failures cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Learn the techniques and obtain valuable information to detect motor problems prior to failure, avoiding costly downtime. This course focuses electric motor maintence professionals to achieve results from electrical motor testing that will optimize their plant and shop operations.

Our comprehensive Electric Motor Testing course emphasizes…

READ MORE
powerlines

DOE Announces $34 Million to Improve America?s Power Grid

READ MORE

Hydro-Québec will refund a total of $535 million to customers who were account holders in 2018 or 2019

READ MORE

berlin-launches-electric-flying-ferry

Berlin Launches Electric Flying Ferry

READ MORE

major utilities in the United States

Major U.S. utilities spending more on electricity delivery, less on power production

READ MORE