Update from I-Nuclear: US NRC grants first new reactor construction licenses in 34 years to Southern Co. for Vogtle

US NRC grants first new reactor construction licenses in 34 years to Southern Co. for Vogtle by I-Nuclear

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a combined construction and operating license (COL) February 9 for the Southern Corp. to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at its Vogtle site in the US state of Georgia.

The COL for the Southern Corp.’s twin AP1000s are the first licenses issued for the construction of new reactors in the US in 34 years.

In a 4-1 vote, the commission instructed the staff to issue the licenses within 10 business days.

Known as Vogtle-3 and -4, the reactors are expected to be in service in 2016 and 2017 at a cost of some $14 billion.

The Georgia state public service commission, which regulates electric utilities in the state, had already approved the projects and will allow Southern Company subsidiaries to collect cost recovery from electricity consumers during construction, rather than, as has been done historically, after the plant is actually operating.

The reactors will also benefit from federal government guarantees of loans in an amount up to $3.4 billion for Southern subsidiary Georgia Power.

Georgia Power will own 45.7% of the reactors, while Oglethorpe Power will own 30%, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, 22.7%; and Dalton Utilities, 1.6%.

The 1,100-MW reactors are being constructed near Waynesboro, Ga. under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Westinghouse and the Shaw Group.

They will be operated by the Southern Nuclear Operating Company.

Vogtle-3 and -4 will be the first AP1000s to be built in the United States, but, once under construction, they will be the fifth and sixth AP1000’s under construction globally, joining four others in China.

Not far behind, however, is Scana Corp. subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas, which is expecting NRC approval shortly of a COL application for it to construct two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at its V.C. Summer power station in Jenkensville, SC.

These two reactors, known as Summer-2 and -3 would also be constructed under an EPC contract with Westinghouse and the Shaw Group. The estimated cost is $9.8 billion.

SCE&G is a regulated utility and will also benefit from guaranteed cost recovery from electric consumers.

There are prospects for at least two more AP1000s in the global market. In the UK, Horizon Nuclear Power, a joint venture of German utilities RWE and E.ON, are expected to announce a decision shortly on their choice of reactor technology. They are choosing between the AP1000 and the Areva EPR.

UK utilities are not regulated on price, but the government is developing plans to provide guaranteed power price contracts and a carbon floor price, among other measures, aimed at supporting investment in new nuclear power plants.

Squib valve caveat

The NRC commissioners imposed a condition on their approval of the combined construction/operating license – requiring the inspection and testing of the squib valves in the AP1000.

The squib valves are used to relieve pressure from the primary circuit in an emergency and to release cooling water very quickly. They are fast-acting valves, used as part of the Passive Core Cooling System.

The 14-inch and 18-inch valves were scaled up from similar valves in industrial use.

The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation, which is reviewing the AP1000 design for construction in the UK, last year refused to sign off on the squib valves when it issued its interim design acceptance confirmation (I-DAC) for the AP1000.

“We have not accepted as adequate the engineering substantiation for the mechanical engineering, including pyrotechnic, aspects of the squib valve designs,” ONR said in the I-DAC.

“These are novel designs whose development has continued during generic design assessment (GDA).  Although the design development and associated prototype testing have made some good progress, we are not yet satisfied that the safety justification and substantiation, including documentation, is adequate given the importance of these valves. This has been identified as a GDA Issue,” ONR said.

Under the UK program, GDA issues must be resolved prior to the beginning of any nuclear safety-related construction.—David Stellfox

I-Nuclear | February 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm | Categories: AP1000, New Build, NRC, UK, Westinghouse | URL: http://wp.me/p22dAl-8n