On February 9th, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Southern Co. (SO)’s application for the first construction permit to build nuclear reactors in more than 30 years. The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania raised fears of a radiation release and brought new reactor orders nearly to a halt.
Southern is planning to build two reactors at its Vogtle power plant, about 42 kilometers southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The Atlanta-based company said the first unit would be in operation by 2016 with the second reactor working a year later. Construction will cost about US$14bn.
The NRC also is considering a license for Scana Corp. (SCG) of Cayce, South Carolina, to build two reactors at an existing plant, as the agency weighs new safety rules for the U.S. nuclear-power industry after Japan’s disaster last year.
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