Positive Steps Toward Building Two New Units
The NuStart Energy consortium was originally envisioned to demonstrate the licensing process for obtaining a combined construction and operating license (COL), but it has evolved into one of the critical success factors necessary to support the actual deployment of a new nuclear plant in the U.S. Jones said, "NuStart was very valuable from the standpoint of standardization. The advantage is that follow-on projects can in the future just reference those portions of the Plant Vogtle project COL application that contain standard licensing, engineering, technical, quality, and safety information, and develop their own applications much more efficiently. This alignment of resources creates a valuable experience base that can be used in the standardization of new plant construction and bring new technologies to market in a timely manner. This process allows the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] to focus their resources on the differences rather than go over documentation they have already approved.
"The goal going forward to a one-step licensing process and using a standard design, such as the AP1000, is very valuable to the success of our nuclear power plants," Jones continued. NuStart is participating in a cost-sharing program that is part of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Power 2010 initiative. The permit time-savings for future projects could be enormous for adopters of the AP1000 PWR design in the future.
Southern Company’s schedule for the two new units at Plant Vogtle is reasonable and achievable (Table 1). The plan to proceed with building two new units at the Vogtle site was confirmed after achieving the following major milestones.
The NRC’s renewal of the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years (completed June 2009). The renewal application was submitted on June 27, 2007. In June 2009, the NRC renewed the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years. The new licenses for Units 1 and 2 will expire on Jan. 16, 2047, and Feb. 9, 2049, respectively.
The Georgia Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) certification, required under Georgia law, that approved building two new reactors at the Vogtle site (completed March 2009). The PSC adopted a motion on March 17, 2009, allowing Georgia Power to recover the cost of financing the plant during construction. Both entities will jointly develop mechanisms to provide shared risk protection to taxpayers from significant cost overruns. In addition, the Georgia Senate voted to allow the company to recover its financing costs during construction of the reactors, thereby saving customers about $300 million over time. The PSC agreement set Georgia Power’s portion of the certified cost of each of the new units at nearly $6.5 billion.
The NRC’s issuance of an ESP and LWA (completed August 2009). Southern Nuclear had submitted an Early Site Permit (ESP) application for the Vogtle site to the NRC on August 15, 2006, and an application for a Limited Work Authorization (LWA) on August 16, 2007. (See the sidebar for a complete explanation of the NRC licensing process.) The ESP application requested the NRC to approve a project site adjacent to the existing Plant Vogtle Units 1 and 2. The ESP and LWA were approved by the NRC on August 26, 2009. The ESP is valid for 20 years. The LWA allows a "narrow set of construction activities at the site," according to the NRC. In Southern Nuclear’s LWA, the company can start construction activities limited to the placement of engineered backfill, retaining walls, lean concrete, mudmats, and a waterproof membrane (Figure 3).
3. Early site works begins. Displacement in below-grade soil and rock is being monitored using an integrated system of highly accurate Geokon extensometers, displacement transducers, and pore pressure transducers. Other applications of this instrumentation include the measurement of ground movements around tunnels and behind retaining walls. Data obtained from the instrumentation at each monitoring location are collected several times each day and transmitted on-site by wireless radio from data loggers at each monitoring point, and then transmitted off-site via an IP phone to a central bank of data servers. Courtesy: J.M. Hylko
On August 26, 2009, the NRC issued an ESP for the two new units at the Vogtle site. Southern Nuclear’s ESP is the fourth such permit approved by the NRC but the first based on a specific technology: the Westinghouse AP1000 PWR (Figure 4).
4. New PWR ready for business. The AP1000, based on the proven performance of Westinghouse-designed PWRs, is an advanced 1,154-MWe nuclear power plant that uses the forces of nature and simplicity of design to enhance plant safety and operations and reduce construction costs. Source: Westinghouse
Although the ESP, LWA, and COL processes can be combined, Southern Nuclear decided to treat each process separately. Jones explained: "We chose to do this in order to manage our construction and licensing schedules concurrently. Also, there are certain types of construction activities that can be performed prior to receiving NRC approval." For example, workers have been proceeding with excavation activities for Unit 3, which are expected to continue through February 2010. The excavation will consist of a hole about 90 feet deep, several hundred feet wide, covering about 42 total acres. More than four million cubic yards of soil will be removed from the excavation. Once the existing soil is removed, backfill and compaction activities must be approved and monitored by the NRC.
Table 2. Typical breakdown of AP1000 modules. Source: Westinghouse
The NRC Issues a COL (pending — scheduled for mid-2011). On March 31, 2008, Southern Nuclear filed an application with the NRC for a COL. The NRC has scheduled completion of the Vogtle final safety evaluation report in April 2011. Southern Nuclear expects to receive its COL later in 2011 and then immediately begin safety-related construction.
NuStart is working with Southern Company toward demonstrating the nation’s new process for licensing a nuclear power plant. For instance, Vogtle recently became the reference plant for the AP1000 under NuStart in June 2009. What this means is that Vogtle Units 3 and 4 will be the first to implement the NRC-approved AP1000 technology, and the Vogtle license application will serve as the reference COL.
"The licensing process and our timeline to have our new units operating by 2016 and 2017 were key contributors for selecting the AP1000," said Jones. He added that this timeline is reasonable because the NRC staff has provided Southern Nuclear with schedules or milestone dates as to when it expects to complete its reviews of a particular licensing submittal.
Commenting on the upcoming regulatory oversight, Jones noted, "We will have an NRC resident inspector on site once we begin the safety-related scope of work scheduled to begin first or second quarter of 2010. For now, the licensing organization within Southern Nuclear is corresponding primarily with the NRC headquarters staff in Washington. We have had a couple of meetings with the Region II staff in Atlanta, Ga., in order for them to adjust their resources, to make sure they can be on-site at the proper time to perform their necessary inspections, and be ready and support key construction milestone dates."
Southern Nuclear has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with the consortium of Shaw and Westinghouse for Units 3 and 4.
It’s worth noting that ESP, LWA, and COL processes are not unique to Vogtle Units 3 and 4; the NRC reports that 17 companies have submitted COL applications for up to 26 new nuclear reactors as of July 2009. Some of the earlier applicants in this process are also signing EPC contracts. As at the Vogtle site, other companies looking at new nuclear construction are conducting site preparation work such as land clearing, soil testing, and access road construction in anticipation of constructing new nuclear power plants.
Email
Comments
Print
Reuse
