Southern May Receive Vogtle Early Site Permit In Two Weeks
19 August 2009 - 9:07PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission could issue an early site
permit for two new reactors at Southern Co.'s (SO) Vogtle nuclear
plant in Georgia within two weeks after a decision by an NRC board
earlier this week.
A decision issued on Monday by the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board found that the NRC staff's review of safety and environmental
issues related to Southern's proposal was sufficient to allow the
commission to issue an early site permit for the project. The
permit would allow Southern to begin preliminary construction work
at the site.
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's decision means the
permit will be issued "fairly soon - probably within a couple of
weeks," NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said.
The Vogtle project would be the fourth to receive an early site
permit from the NRC. Southern filed its permit application in 2006.
The company has also filed for a combined operating license to
build and operate the 1,100-megawatt reactors, which the company
expects to enter service in 2016 and 2017.
The Vogtle proposal is on a short list of nuclear projects that
the Department of Energy is considering for loan guarantees.
-By Christine Buurma, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143;
christine.buurma@dowjones.com