Quarterly Nuclear Deployment Scorecard - October 2014

Quarterly Nuclear Deployment Scorecard - October 2014

Office of Nuclear Energy

October 31, 2014

News Updates

  • The NRC has approved a final rule on the continued storage of spent fuel and has lifted a two-year suspension on final licensing actions on plant licenses and license renewals. The rule incorporates a generic environmental impact statement that can be referenced by the environmental reviews for site licenses.
  • The NRC has published the final rule certifying the General Electric-Hitachi Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR); the rule will go into effect in November. The 1,594 megawatt reactor is one of the most advanced designs currently available and employs passive safety features to maintain core cooling in the event of an accident.

Regulatory Status

  • Eighteen combined construction and operating license (COL) applications have been docketed; two have received COLs; eight (totaling 12 nuclear reactors) remain under active Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review, and eight have been suspended due to utility economic considerations. 
  • The Calvert Cliffs application continues to face foreign ownership issues. The Reference COL (R-COL) application has been submitted for five reactor designs; subsequent COLs (S-COLs) will incorporate the corresponding R-COL application by reference, noting any site-specific departures. 
  • Southern Nuclear’s Vogtle Units 3 and 4 and SCE&G’s VC Summer Units 2 and 3 have received COLs.

Reactor Design Certification (DC)

Summary: Two reactor designs that are being considered for future builds in the U.S. are certified and two renewal applications are under NRC review.

  • AREVA US-EPR – Submitted December 12, 2007, and docketed February 25, 2008; certification schedule is under review.
  • GEH ESBWR – Design certified; final rule will become effective November 14.
  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries US-APWR – Submitted December 31, 2007 and docketed February 29, 2008; MHI has requested a deferral of the review due to their work on reactor restarts in Japan.
  • Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) APR1400 – Pre-application interactions continue. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. and KEPCO plan to submit an application in late 2014.
  • GEH ABWR – Certified in 1997. Toshiba and GEH have also separately submitted design certification renewal applications that are currently under review.
  • Westinghouse AP1000 – Amended design certified on December 30, 2011.

Early Site Permits (ESP)

Summary:  Four ESPs issued; one under review:

  • PSEG submitted an ESP application for its nuclear plant site in Salem County, New Jersey, on May 25, 2010. The final environmental impact statement (EIS) is expected in September 2015; the safety review schedule is under review due to problems related to documentation of the hydrology portion of the ESP application.
  • The following ESPs have been issued:  Exelon – Clinton (IL), 3/15/07; Entergy – Grand Gulf (MS), 4/5/07; Dominion – North Anna (VA), 11/27/07; Southern – Vogtle site (GA), 08/26/09.

Decommissioning

  • Four plants have announced decommissioning plans. 
    • Entergy plans to close its single unit Vermont Yankee plant in late 2014; sustained low natural gas prices, financial impacts of cumulative regulations, and the wholesale market structure all contributed to the company’s decision to shutter the plant.
    • Dominion’s closure of its single-unit Kewaunee plant in May 2013 also followed from low wholesale electricity prices.
    • Closures at San Onofre and Crystal River were both due to problems related to steam generator replacements.
    • There are currently 100 reactor units operating.

New Plant Construction Progress

Summary:  Full nuclear construction has begun for V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 and Vogtle Units 3 and 4. TVA is proceeding with the completion of Watts Bar 2.

  • New Nuclear Plants under Construction: COLs for Vogtle Units 3 and 4 and V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 have been issued.  

Vogtle

  • Unit 3: Concrete has been placed inside containment up to an elevation of over 80 feet; this placement forms the floor of the steam generator compartment and chemical and volume control system room. CA05 structural module has been placed in containment.
  • Unit 4: 360 cubic yards of concrete have been placed in containment, forming the base of the reactor cavity.

V.C. Summer

  • Unit 2: First cooling tower is structurally substantially complete. Several pieces of equipment (auxiliary boiler, heat exchangers, feed water heaters) have been set inside the turbine building. CA05 module has been fully assembled and is ready for placement.
  • Unit 3: First cooling tower is structurally substantially complete. Turbine building modules are being assembled.

Watts Bar 2

  • Construction is more than 90% complete; reactor vessel has been fully assembled; the project continues to track to a most likely commercial operation date of December 2015.

Expected Operation Dates

  • TVA expects Watts Bar 2 to be completed by late 2015.
  • Southern Nuclear’s Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are expected to come online in late 2017 and 2018, respectively.
  • SCE&G’s V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 are expected to come online in late 2017 and 2018, respectively.