Fresh Loaf

Rob Pavey at the Augusta Chronicle reports the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have determined two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle would not have an impact on the environment. The commission approved an early site permit initially requested by Southern Co., the plant’s co-owner and operator, in August 2006.

From the article:

The early site permitting process allows an applicant to address site-related issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible construction and operation of a nuclear power plant.

Although it is not a license to build reactors, it streamlines the process to determine whether a proposed site is suitable.

(Photo courtesy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

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The cost of building nuclear reactors, such as the two new ones Southern Co. has proposed at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, is high. Turns out storing the spent fuel generated from the power generators at Yucca Mountain in Nevada will be expensive as well.

From E&E News (subscription required):

DOE has spent $13.5 billion since 1983, and figures to spend $54.8 billion on construction, operation and decommissioning of the [Yucca Mountain] repository; $19.5 billion for transporting the waste — including building the canisters for holding waste; and $8.4 billion for other program activities.

The report notes that the expenses were based on a repository opening date of 2017 — a best possible opening date that Sproat has already said is no longer possible due to budget constraints, which have pushed it to 2020. The lifecycle estimate also does not include the at least $11 billion in liability expenses DOE expects for breaking its contract with utilities to begin taking away the spent nuclear fuel in 1998.

Another possible cost increase could come from the more than 30 planned new nuclear reactors, which were not included in the estimate. Sproat said trying to estimate costs for waste from the new reactors would be speculative and would no longer provide “an apples to apples” comparison with the 2001 report….

(Hat tip to the always informative Joe Romm at ClimateProgress)

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OBAMA: Debuts his first TV ad of the post-primaries campaign in Georgia and 17 other states today.

STUDY BUDDIES: Florida’s Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Allen Boyd have introduced a bill calling for a comprehensive study of water-management needs for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, despite the fact that a three-year process to update the ACF system’s operation manuals is already under way.

LOCH MESS: Lake Lanier and Alabama’s West Point Lake and Lake Walter George are all expected to drop several feet over the next five weeks, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

FLAGPOLE MUSIC AWARDS: R.E.M. won Best Album for Accelerate last night; Flagpole interviews Peter Buck in anticipation of R.E.M.’s show at Lakewood tomorrow.

PUT UP YOUR NUKES: The Savannah River Site seals up its 7 million cubic feet of radioactive waste after 22 years of being an active dump.

FRAUDIAN SLIP: Federal prosecutors indict seven metro Atlantans in an alleged straw-buyer mortgage fraud scam, part of the FBI’s nationwide “Operation Malicious Mortgage.”

THRASHERS COACH: We at least know one thing: The Thrashers either have or haven’t hired a new head coach. (UPDATE: They have.)

MLS COMING TO ATLANTA? Arthur Blank is either looking into bringing us a new Major League Soccer team, a Multiple Listing Service or a Master’s in Library Science. I’m not sure which sounds the most boring.

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First it’s news that Piedmont Park will be off-limits to festivals this summer. Then it’s word that Atlanta-area swimming pools may not be allowed to use water this summer. Then it’s news that Six Flags may have to shut down its water-based rides.

Now, reports say that if the drought doesn’t ease soon, nuclear power plants across the Southeast could be forced to shut down for the lack of cooling water they need to operate.

Officials don’t expect blackouts, but it would prompt “shockingly high” power bills for consumers because the electricity would have to be purchased from other energy sources.

The ramifications of this drought have only just begun.

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