US Approves Two New Nuclear Reactors

JoeRobe writes "For the first time in 30 years, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved licenses to build two new nuclear reactors in Georgia. These are the first licenses to be issued since the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. The pair of facilities will cost $14 billion and produce 2.2 GW of power (able to power ~1 million homes). They will be Westinghouse AP1000 designs, which are the newest reactors approved by the NRC. These models passively cool their fuel rods using condensation and gravity, rather than electricity, preventing the possibility of another Fukushima Daiichi-type meltdown due to loss of power to cooling water pumps." Adds Unknown Lamer: "Expected to begin operation in 2016 or 2017, the pair of new AP1000 reactors will produce around 2GW of power for the southeast. This is the first of the new combined construction and operating licenses ever issued by the NRC; hopefully this bodes well for the many other pending applications."

Comments

Re:Typical

[Beelzebud]

Yay for the devaluation of labor! If cheap wages are "affordable" for the CEO's to continue their bonuses and golden parachutes, we should all get rid of unions! The south still has room for progress though, they still won't work as cheap as the Chinese.

Re:About time

[DaFallus]

How about if we use less energy?

That is never really going to happen. Energy demand is always going to increase. Even if energy usage drops to 1 joule per appliance, people are still going to have more and more appliances and require more and more power for more and more advanced technology.

So if I plug a 10 ohm, 10,000 watt (1%, because I'm all about quality) resistor into my wall outlet and watch it glow, I'm progressing?

Fascinating.

The most fascinating part is the twisted logic you used to mangle the parent's point so that you could come across as a smug little know-it-all. By your own logic, your plea for a reduction in energy usage advocates genocide (less people, less energy usage).