News Release
Nuclear Energy Institute FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Contact:202.739.8000
- For Release:February 9, 2012
NRC Approval of Plant Vogtle’s Construction, Operating License Opens New Nuclear Energy Era
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 9, 2012—The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
announced today that it has approved
Southern Nuclear’s combined construction and operating license (COL) for the two-reactor
Plant Vogtle expansion in Georgia. Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of
Southern Company, will build two
Westinghouse Electric Co. AP1000 reactors
at the site near Augusta, Ga. Following is a statement from Marvin S.
Fertel, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s president and chief executive
officer.
“This is a historic day. Today’s licensing action
sounds a clarion call to the world that the United States recognizes the
importance of expanding nuclear energy as a key component of a
low-carbon energy future that is central to job creation, diversity of
electricity supply and energy security. The Nuclear Energy Institute
congratulates Southern Company, the
Shaw Group, Westinghouse Electric and other project participants on this exciting achievement.
“The United States is building new nuclear energy facilities under an
improved licensing process
that exhaustively addresses safety considerations. It also assures that
the lessons learned from the industry’s licensing and construction
experience are properly applied to future projects. Ultimately, this
also will benefit consumers who depend on reliable, affordable
electricity from those facilities.
“U.S. electricity demand has
grown nearly 25 percent since the last nuclear power plant began
operating in Tennessee in 1996; it has risen more than 80 percent since
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last approved a construction permit
for a new nuclear energy facility in 1979. A big part of the reason that
the nation has been able to meet this rising demand is because
electricity production from existing nuclear energy facilities has risen
40 percent over the past two decades. Nuclear energy supplies 20
percent of the nation’s electricity, even though 104 reactors constitute
only 10 percent of the installed electric generating capacity. They
have proven to be a tremendous investment in our nation’s economic and
environmental advances.
“The thousands of reactor-years of
operating experience that are the foundation for these gains have gone
into the engineering, design and construction planning for the AP1000
reactors. The two new reactors will power more than 1 million homes and
businesses in Georgia. Westinghouse’s new standardized design takes
reactor safety to the highest level in U.S. history and is a huge stride
forward for the nuclear energy industry and the nation. Thousands of
jobs, direct and indirect, will be created from the largest construction
project in Georgia history, and the electricity produced will help
sustain economic growth in the region for 60 years.
“We congratulate all who have worked on making the next generation of America’s nuclear energy facilities a reality.”
Southern Co.'s Tom Fanning Discusses Historic Approval of License to Build, Operate Two New Reactors:
