Alabama-based Southern Nuclear Operating Company has filed an application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a combined construction and operating license on behalf of the owners of the Alvin Vogtle electric generating plant near Waynesboro, Georgia.
The Vogtle plant is owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.
The combined construction and operating license (COL) is another step in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) new licensing process designed to reduce regulatory uncertainty by completing the process in stages.
The Vogtle plant owners have selected Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology for two additional units at the plant site. The NRC has certified the AP1000 design after nearly 20 years of analysis by technical experts, according to Southern Nuclear.
Southern Nuclear applied for an early site permit for the Vogtle plant in August 2006. Georgia Power also will need approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission before making a final decision to build the new units.