Vogtle Units 3 & 4

[Rennhack]

Vogtle Units 3 and 4

On behalf of the plant owners, Southern Nuclear filed applications with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an Early Site Permit (ESP) and a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for potential new units at the Vogtle site.

In August 2009, Southern Nuclear received the ESP for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The Vogtle ESP is the first one in the industry to reference a specific technology, Westinghouse AP1000. Additionally, Southern Nuclear's ESP comes with a Limited Work Authorization (LWA). The LWA allows limited safety-related activities to begin at the site prior to the COL being issued.

An ESP allows the NRC to review and pre-approve the site for construction of new units and allows the company to conduct design, construction and other site-specific evaluations before making a decision to build.

The COL provides Southern Company with one license to build and operate a nuclear plant based on an NRC pre-approved design at a specific site should the owners decide to build.

Additionally, the new Vogtle units have received certification from the Georgia Public Service Commission. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, and co-owner of the proposed units, filed an Application for Certification of Vogtle Units 3 and 4 on August 1, 2008. The filing was approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission on March 17, 2009.


Source: http://www.southerncompany.com/nuclearenergy/vogtle_units.aspx
Source: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/vogtle/documents.html
Source: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/vogtle.html

[Rennhack]

NuStart Members Step Toward COL Completion

05/01/09

NuStart Energy Development is working with Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority to take the next step toward demonstrating the nation's new process for licensing a nuclear power plant and bringing advanced nuclear technologies to market.

NuStart member utilities, including Southern Company and TVA, and the design-centered working group focused on Westinghouse's AP1000 standardized reactor design are consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a process for transferring the reference combined construction and operating license application (COLA) from TVA's Bellefonte nuclear site to Southern Nuclear's Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. The effort is designed to align industry and regulatory resources with a license application that has specific near-term construction plans.

The reference application contains standard licensing, engineering, technical, quality, and safety information that future applicants can use to develop their own applications much more efficiently. This process allows the NRC to conduct a one-time review for standard material and then apply that review to future applications. The TVA and Southern Nuclear applications reference the NRC design certification of Westinghouse's AP1000 standardized design. The change in reference application means that all future COL applications for AP1000 technology in the U.S. will reference documentation approved by the NRC from the Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 application.

TVA and NuStart have completed the standard design work contained in the reference COLA that was submitted for the Bellefonte Nuclear site in October, 2007, and that information has been provided to the NRC for scheduled review.

"In order to maintain this momentum, NuStart member utilities recognize that it is appropriate to align the resources for future review to an application with specific near-term construction plans, such as Southern Company's Plant Vogtle" said NuStart Energy Development President Marilyn Kray.

"This transfer of the AP1000 reference plant is a very positive sign for the industry. The NuStart program was originally envisioned to be a 'demonstration' of the licensing process, but has evolved into one of the critical success factors necessary to support the actual deployment of a new nuclear plant in the US," added Kray.

The AP1000 utilities will continue to work through NuStart to maintain the high level of cooperation experienced to date. This cooperation has exemplified the NRC's concept of a design centered review approach, led to efficiency in the process, and upheld the industry commitment to plant standardization.

"We've made tremendous progress since submitting the application for Bellefonte, providing the standard content required in the 11-part COLA and responding to more than 95 percent of approximately 600 requests for additional information from the NRC within the committed timeframe," said TVA's Vice President of Nuclear Generation Development Jack Bailey who serves as TVA's representative to NuStart.

"Designating an application with near-term construction plans certainly advances the industry's efforts through NuStart to demonstrate an effective licensing process. Aligning resources to support near-term construction creates a valuable base of experience we can use going forward in the standardization of new plant construction and bringing new technology to market," he said.

Southern Nuclear Company, on behalf of the Plant Vogtle co-owners, has submitted a COL application for its Plant Vogtle site that references the standard design in the Bellefonte application.

"Southern Company is pleased that the Vogtle site has been selected by NuStart, because this change recognizes our leadership role in the development of the AP1000 licensing process," said Southern Nuclear Executive Vice President Buzz Miller, who serves as Southern Company's representative to NuStart. "Nuclear energy is an important part of our diverse fuel mix, and we look forward to licensing new units at Plant Vogtle in order to provide clean, safe, reliable and economical energy for our customers in Georgia."

Southern Nuclear anticipates earning regulatory approval of its Early Site Permit (ESP) for two additional units at Plant Vogtle later this year. Southern Nuclear expects to receive its combined license in 2011 and have new units on line in the 2016 to 2017 time frame.

Georgia Power, the majority owner of Plant Vogtle, has received certification for the new units from the Georgia Public Service Commission, and as a result, non-safety related construction activities have begun at the plant site. Southern Nuclear plans to begin safety-related construction once it receives appropriate approvals from the NRC.

Providing more than 60 percent of the electricity generated by nuclear power in the United States, the member utilities of NuStart Energy Development actively pursue diverse portfolios of generation options to meet their customers' power needs safely, reliably, efficiently, and responsibly with respect for the environment. The member utilities of NuStart Energy Development support any power company's work to further new generation options.

Members of NuStart Energy consortium are:

DTE Energy, Detroit, MI, Duke Energy, Charlotte, NC, EDF International North America, Washington, D.C., Entergy Nuclear, Jackson, MS, Exelon Generation, Philadelphia, PA, Florida Power & Light Company, Juno Beach, FL, Progress Energy, Raleigh, NC, South Carolina Electric & Gas, Columbia, SC, Southern Company, Atlanta, GA, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, NC, Westinghouse Electric Co., Pittsburgh, PA

Source: http://www.nustartenergy.com/DisplayArticle.aspx?ID=20090501-01

[tr]

Georgia Power accepts Vogtle loan guarantee
21 June 2010

Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power has formally agreed to accept a conditional federal loan guarantee for the construction of two new nuclear units at its Vogtle site.

In February of this year, Vogtle units 3 and 4 became the first new nuclear power plant construction projects to be offered conditional loan guarantees by the US Department of Energy (DoE). Project partners were given 90 days in which to accept the conditional commitment, on top of which Southern secured a further 30-day extension. The reasons for the extension request are not clear. Georgia Power's acceptance of the guarantee was made on the deadline of the offer's expiry.

The loan guarantees would cover up to 70% of the company's eligible projected costs applying to future borrowings related to the construction of Vogtle 3 and 4, or approximately $3.4 billion. The guarantees are expected to be funded by the Federal Financing Bank. Any guaranteed borrowings would be secured by Georgia Power's 45.7% interest in the two new units. Georgia Power's share of the construction cost is currently forecast to be about $6.1 billion, including $1.7 billion of financing costs to be collected during construction.

Georgia Power's partners in the project are Oglethorpe Power, with a 30% share, and Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) with 22.7%. The City of Dalton holds the remaining share in the new plant. At the same time that its loan guarantee offer was made to Georgia Power, DoE offered Oglethorpe Power and MEAG loan guarantees covering $3.07 billion and $1.8 billion respectively, which the two companies are understood to have accepted already.

Final approval and issuance of the loan guarantees are subject to the project's receipt of a combined construction and operating licence (COL) from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) among other regulatory approvals and conditions. However, the NRC granted an early site permit (ESP) and limited work authorisation for the project in 2009, and site work is already under way for the two Westinghouse AP1000 units, which are scheduled to start up in 2016 and 2017.

DoE loan guarantees have been offered in various areas as well as nuclear to encourage the commercial use of new or significantly improved energy technologies. The federally-backed guarantees are intended to help would-be builders to raise private finance at no cost to the taxpayer; indeed the recipients are charged a fee for the guarantee. Applications from nuclear energy projects were lodged in 2008, with a fee of $200,000 for the first part and $600,000 for the second part. The DoE received 19 initial applications from 17 utilities to support the construction of 14 nuclear power plants involving 21 new reactors of five different designs, plus two applications for enrichment plants. Earlier this year an extra $36 billion in guarantees was added to the $18.5 billion initially announced in 2005 for nuclear power plants and the $2 billion made available to fuel cycle facilities. Areva Enrichment Services was granted a $2 billion loan guarantee for its Eagle Rock enrichment facility in May.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News
source:  http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Georgia_Power_accepts_Vogtle_loan_guarantee-2106107.html

[Ksheed]

Vogtle clear to alter foundation says NRC

http://analysis.nuclearenergyinsider.com/new-build/nuclear-energy-insider-policy-brief-20-%E2%80%93-27-june-2012?utm_source=http%3a%2f%2fuk.nuclearenergyinsider.com%2ffc_nei_decomlz%2f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NEI+e-brief+2706&utm_term=UAE%3a+Five+years+to+build+a+nuclear+workforce&utm_content=140520

Second article

[techtoolong]

any one know anything about these ?

[Ksheed]

any one know anything about these ?

The latest...

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2012-09-20/steel-plates-sent-plant-vogtle-fail-nrc-inspections

[Ksheed]

And here.....

New $900 million Vogtle lawsuit filed

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/new-900-million-vogtle-lawsuit-filed/nSwWx/

[Roll Tide]

Check out some really cool pics

http://www.southerncompany.com/what-doing/energy-innovation/nuclear-energy/gallery/new/

[bk_con1]

Does anyone know if and when the next AP1000 license class is scheduled to start?

[Fermi2]

Did you check their website?

[bk_con1]

Yes. I know they are hiring, but does not state when actual class starts.

[Higgs]

Probably 6-8 month after the date that they say that they need you on site. The NRC is not keen on granting time on site waivers these days, and minimum is six months. I know it's not an exact date, but a good ball park.

Justin