Nuclear Companies Near Augusta Say They Need Thousands of Workers

A new study says the nuclear industry could potentially create thousands of new jobs in the Augusta area throughout the next decade.

The region's major employers, including companies who manage operations at commercial nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina as well as a federal site that processes nuclear materials near Augusta, say they will need 10,000 jobs.

The jobs would range from nuclear chemists and computer engineers to plant operators and sheet metal workers.

The study comes as power companies seek to meet rising demand for electricity with nuclear energy. That includes the construction of nuclear power plants would be among the first built in the U.S. in decades. State public service commission officials in both Georgia and South Carolina have already okayed new reactors, but the companies building them are still seeking approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Construction of a controversial new nuclear fuel plant near Augusta is also underway, although no power companies have committed yet to buying the fuel.

The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization commissioned the study through Booz Allen, a technology consulting firm. The organization has said it is looking to develop a strategy between private and public entities to meet the growing demand for nuclear workers. The organization is also working to lease a portion of privately owned land at the site for development, possibly for a nuclear energy park or reactors that would be used for reactors.

Across the U.S., meanwhile, the nuclear industry has said it is looking to step up the recruitment and education of a new generation of workers to meet the emerging demand.

Nuclear Reactors Near Augusta Get License Renewals

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for two nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, near Augusta.

The renewal is good until the year 2047 for one of the existing reactors and 2049 for the other.

Plant Vogtle, meanwhile, has received widespread attention -- and controversy -- as it also seeks to build two more reactors. Georgia Power, a majority owner of Plant Vogtle, and Southern Nuclear Operating Company, which operates the plant, have been seeking approval to build the additional reactors. The state public service commission says the reactors would meet an increasing demand for electricity in Georgia. Environmental groups, meanwhile, have argued that the demand is not big enough to justify the reactors.

The state public service commission has given the okay for the proposed new reactors, but the NRC is still reviewing the proposal. Construction of the reactors would be among the first in the U.S. in decades.

Environmental groups, meanwhile, oppose the proposed new reactors.

For more information about the existing reactors and the license renewals, click here.

GA Power "Pay It Forward" Plan Challenged in Lawsuit

A bill that would charge Georgia Power customers to pay early for the construction of two nuclear reactors awaits Governor Sonny Perdue’s signature. The governor has indicated he’ll sign it.

Meanwhile, it has become the target of a lawsuit by the Fulton County Taxpayers’ Foundation. The group sued Governor Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson among others last week.

The lawsuit argues Senate bill 31 is illegal because it originated in the state Senate instead of the House, and that any measure that increases revenues should originate in the House.

Publish Post

Georgia Power officials say they aren’t worried about the lawsuit.

(The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Plant Vogtle Nuclear Expansion in Hearings

The construction of two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta will be before Georgia's Public Service Commission this week.

At the same time, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also consider the plan. The NRC will begin holding hearings Monday on how the plants would affect the Savannah River. Opponents say the plan will use too much water from the river. The reactors would draw millions of gallons of water each day for its cooling towers.

But the company that manages Plant Vogtle says the reactors will use a tiny percentage of river water, returning a portion to the Savannah.

The hearing will focus on those arguments and whether dredging the river to ship in large portions of the reactors would cause environmental problems.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board begins four-day public meeting to discuss the early
site permit application for Plant Vogle at the Doubletree Hotel and Convention Center, 2651 Perimeter Parkway, Augusta.
Contacts: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 301-415-8200

Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro gets favorable response on proposed new nuclear reactors

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that there are no environmental impacts that would prevent Southern Nuclear Operating Co., a part of Southern Company, from getting an early site permit to construct two new nuclear reactors in eastern Georgia.

It's a preliminary, but important, step in the lengthy approval process for Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro.

Environmental and safety evaluations of the proposed construction site are conducted throughout the early site permit process.

Southern Nuclear must also get a construction and operating license to build.

That decision likely won't happen until 2009.

Environmental groups, meanwhile, argue the new reactors would use too much water from the Savannah River, something that Southern Nuclear denies.

The groups also fear a nuclear accident.

Southern Nuclear has said it has not committed to building the reactors, even though it's pursuing the permit and license.

The reactors would generate electricity for Georgia Power customers.

Nuclear power plant seeks two new reactors near Augusta

A proposal to build two new nuclear reactors near Augusta is generating controversy.

The public is invited to speak about the proposal at a hearing tonight.

Southern Nuclear Operating Company wants to build two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle Electricity Plant near Waynesboro.

Both supporters and opponents of of the plan will speak at a public hearing tonight before the federal Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in Augusta.

Proponents say that nuclear energy is cheaper and is cleaner than other forms of energy, such as coal.

But opponents fear the reactors will use too much water from the Savannah River.

They also fear the risk of a nuclear accident.

Plant Vogtle already has two nuclear reactors.

Company officials say the new reactors would generate electricity for about 558,000 average homes in Georgia.

They hope to have the reactors online by 2017.

The hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel on Perimeter Parkway in Augusta. A presentation regarding a permit for the reactors will begin at 5 p.m.