Nuclear Renaissance Revived: NRC Approves Westinghouse AP1000 Reactor Design

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. nuclear renaissance passed a critical milestone on December 22 when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Bethesda, Maryland) voted 5-0 to certify the AP1000 pressurized water reactor design from Westinghouse Electric Company (Monroeville, Pennsylvania), a unit of Toshiba Corporation (PINK:TOSBF) (Tokyo, Japan).

Utility units of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) and SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) (Cayce, South Carolina) plan to build four nuclear generating units using the AP1000 reactor design. To date, the owners of those projects have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in pre-construction and licensing activities in advance of the AP1000 reactor design receiving approval from federal nuclear regulators. The four units have a total investment value (TIV) exceeding $29 billion.

"The road to receiving Design Certification has been long and sometimes arduous," Aris Candris, president and chief executive of Westinghouse, said in a statement after the NRC vote. "But we've reached our final destination, and the feeling of success can be felt by Westinghouse employees around the world. Now, our U.S. customers are one step closer to constructing AP1000 units and putting thousands to work to ultimately provide future generations with safe, clean and reliable electricity."

"The Commission is able to reach this final step in approving the amended AP1000 reactor design due to the staff's dedicated work ensuring the design meets NRC's safety requirements," NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said in a statement. "The design provides enhanced safety margins through use of simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative safety and security functions, and also has been assessed to ensure it could withstand damage from an aircraft impact without significant release of radioactive materials."

Westinghouse originally submitted the AP1000 for NRC certification in March 2002; the NRC approved it in January 2006. In May 2007, Westinghouse submitted an application to amend the AP1000.

It has been more than 30 years since construction began in the U.S. on a new nuclear power plant. In early 2010, the Southern Company received an $8.3 billion federal construction loan guarantee to help build two new units at its existing Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia. For more on that issue, see the February 17, 2010, article - Obama Administration Commits $8 Billion in Loan Guarantees to Georgia Power's Vogtle Units 3 and 4.

Tony Pietrangelo, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) (Washington, D.C.) applauded Westinghouse and the NRC: "On behalf of the nuclear energy industry, NEI congratulates Westinghouse and its employees on this exciting achievement. The AP1000 design incorporates innovative design and engineering features for customers in the global market. The industry also acknowledges the work done by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its methodical review of Westinghouse's design certification application."

"NRC safety certification of the AP1000 design brings the U.S. nuclear energy industry an important step closer to the construction and operation of advanced-design reactors that can strengthen America's energy security while producing large amounts of affordable electricity to help drive economic growth," Pietrangelo said in a statement. "With this approval, we fully expect that what's known as 'safety-related construction' can soon move ahead on four new AP1000 reactors in Georgia and South Carolina. These projects will add 4,600 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity to the Southeast electrical grid."

Tom Fanning, chairman, president and chief executive of Southern Company, issued this statement after the NRC vote: "The NRC's action confirms the AP1000 design is safe and meets all regulatory requirements. The commission now has all of the technical information needed to issue the Vogtle [combined operating license]." For more on pre-construction activities at Vogtle Units 3 and 4, see September 7, 2011, article - Georgia Power: Contractor Issues Fixed, Construction of Vogtle 3 and 4 is 'On Track'.

Click on image to enlarge photos of pre-construction work for Vogtle Unit 4.

The NRC took the unusual step of making its order effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register, which is expected to take place in a matter of days. Typically, NRC orders are effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Once the decision is effective, the agency can move forward with issuing a combined construction and operating license (COL) for the Vogtle and Summer expansion projects. Receipt of a COL would authorize the project managers to accelerate construction activities at the generation sites.

Southern Company has said that the Vogtle expansion units can come online in 2016 and 2017, assuming it receives a COL by yearend 2011. SCANA's Summer units 2 and 3 are expected to be online in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Both expect to receive their COLs soon.

Organizations and individuals that oppose nuclear power criticized the NRC's decision, saying the agency did not have time to fully consider and incorporate the findings of the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan earlier this year. But the NRC disagreed, noting that its staff had spent countless hours reviewing more than 12,000 public comments that had been filed on the AP1000 reactor design.

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