BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the license to begin construction on the nation's first two new nuclear power units in 30 years at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga. Shaw, a Baton Rouge company, is contracted to construct these nuclear units.
The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) issued the following statement congratulating Southern Company for approval of its combined license (COL) from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for two new AP1000® nuclear power units at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga.
"Shaw congratulates Southern on this major milestone for the Vogtle project, the first new U.S. nuclear construction commercial power project in more than 30 years," said J.M. Bernhard Jr., Shaw's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Shaw is proud to be part of such a historic project. Not only is this milestone another step forward in continuing to provide safe, clean and reliable energy for the future, but the project also will create thousands of jobs and provide numerous long-term benefits for the Georgia community. Shaw anticipates hiring approximately 3,500 employees during construction of the new units at Vogtle, with thousands of more jobs created as a result of construction and operation of the reactors," said Mr. Bernhard.
The license for Vogtle is the first to be approved by the NRC under an improved process that combines the construction permit and operating license for a nuclear power plant. By combining the construction permit and operating license, the new licensing method provides greater regulatory efficiency and increases the predictability of the process. Receipt of the COL signifies that full construction can begin.
Featuring the world's most advanced reactor technology, the AP1000 design, the project now is authorized to begin safety-related construction. The AP1000 technology received final design certification from the NRC in December 2011.
Shaw and Westinghouse currently are building four new nuclear power units in the United States, with two units each at Plant Vogtle and South Carolina Electric & Gas' V.C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station, and with two more units under contract for Progress Energy in Florida. These projects represent the first nuclear power new-build contracts awarded in nearly 30 years. Shaw also is providing engineering, procurement, commissioning, information management and project management services for four AP1000 nuclear units currently under construction in China.
The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SHAW) is a leading global provider of engineering, construction, technology, fabrication, remediation and support services for clients in the energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response industries. A Fortune 500 company with fiscal year 2011 annual revenues of $5.9 billion, Shaw has approximately 27,000 employees around the world and is a power sector industry leader according to Engineering News-Record's list of Top 500 Design Firms. For more information, please visit Shaw's website at www.shawgrp.com.
Vogtle 3 and 4 construction site with Vogtle units 1 an 2 in the background (Source: Southern Company Inc.)
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