NRC sets vote on Georgia nuclear reactors

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Federal regulators are considering a plan to build the nation's first nuclear power plant in a generation.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to vote Thursday on Atlanta-based Southern Co.'s request to build two new reactors at Plant Vogtle (VO-gul) in eastern Georgia.

If approved, the $14 billion reactors could begin operating as soon as 2016 and 2017.

The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania raised fears of a radiation release and brought new reactor orders nearly to a halt.

The NRC approved a new reactor design for the Vogtle plant in December. Utility companies in Florida and the Carolinas also plan new reactors that use the same design.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-02-09-Nuclear%20Power/id-047bd5bc11c843ada622682d1abb4b1a

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