NRC Approves New Nuc

The NRC approved a combined construction and operating permit for the Vogtle plant site in eastern Georgia yesterday. It was the first new permit issued since 1978. Two more reactors in South Carolina are expected to be approved in the next few months. The administration has offered the Vogtle project $8.3 billion in subsidies as part of its nuclear expansion policy. These new plants are what is left of the "nuclear renaissance" touted by the industry as a solution to greenhouse gas emissions and dependance on foreign oil. The Union of Concerned Scientists in response to the approval said the building boom has been significantly slowed and blamed the industry for "inappropriate optimism" that ignores huge capital costs, acceptable nuclear waste disposal, and safety risks. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko, recently criticized by his colleagues as being too bossy in his efforts to close the Yucca Mountain waste depository, voted against the license because he wanted a binding agreement from the Southern Co. that it would make safety changes based on what was learned from the Fukushima disaster. New safety regulations are still under development. Twenty-eight US reactors use an early GE design similar to those that failed at Fukushima. Other countries such as Germany are reversing their commitment to nuclear power in the wake of the largest nuclear accident in history.