Robert Zullo reports that The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will issue a license soon for a proposed third nuclear reactor at the Dominion Energy North Anna plant near Mineral in Louisa County, Virginia. However, given the cost of the project, which has been opposed by a few consumer and environmental groups and has yet to be approved by the State Corporation Commission, it remains unclear whether the utility will actually build the reactor. Basically, having a combined operating license allows us the ability to build and operate a new unit at such time as makes business sense, said Richard Zuercher, a Dominion spokesman. Richmond-based Dominion has spent roughly $600 million to date on planning, engineering and developing the 1,600-megawatt General Electric-Hitachi-designed reactor. Actually building the reactor is estimated to cost about $19 billion. The NRC decision comes after it determined in January that there were no safety aspects that would prevent the issuance of the license, including a seismic analysis that included data from the magnitude-5.8 earthquake that struck Mineral on Aug. 23, 2011. The commission found the staff review of Dominion application to be adequate to make the necessary regulatory safety and environmental findings, the NRC said in a statement. The commission did impose conditions, including mitigation strategies and other requirements related to the 2011 incident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactors in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, but where no one was killed or hurt at the plant. It has been thoroughly evaluated against the earthquake that actually happened at North Anna, Zuercher said. The NRC looks very closely at that, but it does meet the new criteria for seismic activity in the region. About 40% of Virginia electricity comes from Dominion nuclear reactors at North Anna and Surry, and the company plans to seek approval to extend their licenses.
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