Coming on the heels of last month’s $65,000 NRC fine, Progress Energy continues to promote two more reactors at their Shearon-Harris site.
There are several unresolved issues involving Shearon-Harris that makes siting further reactors more than problematic. Until waste disposal, security, adequate fire protection, safe storage and a slew of other issues are dealt with, furthering a development proposal for Shearon-Harris makes no sense.
The NRC, the industry’s partners in the nuclear mess, is holding an initial public hearing Sept. 18th in Apex.
In preparation for the Progress Energy license application for Harris, the NRC has scheduled a public information meeting on Tuesday, September 18, at the New Horizons Fellowship at 820 E. Williams Street in Apex, NC. An open house will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a NRC presentation at 7:00 p.m., after which the public will have an opportunity to ask questions. (A copy of the meeting notice is attached.)
Earlier posts on Progress Energy’s Shearon-Harris
The complete notice follows
As you know, Progress Energy announced in January 2006 that the existing Harris Nuclear Plant site is the preferred location for construction of two new reactors if our projection for future energy demand warrants the need for new power plants. Because the regulatory review process can take several years, we are required to submit the application now even though a final decision on whether to build is still more than a year away. Beginning the licensing process now gives us maximum flexibility in meeting the future demand in our growing communities.
As is standard practice, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducts a public information meeting prior to new plant licensing requests. The purpose of this informational meeting is for the NRC to discuss the license review process with interested members of the public, to identify opportunities for public involvement and to answer questions.
In preparation for the Progress Energy license application for Harris, the NRC has scheduled a public information meeting on Tuesday, September 18, at the New Horizons Fellowship at 820 E. Williams Street in Apex, NC. An open house will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a NRC presentation at 7:00 p.m., after which the public will have an opportunity to ask questions. (A copy of the meeting notice is attached.)
The NRC will send press releases to local media outlets and place advertising in local papers to publicize the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend. This is the first of several opportunities for public involvement throughout the NRC’s multi-year review of the application, which the company expects to submit in early 2008.
The September 18 public meeting is separate from the Harris Plant’s current filing under NRC review to renew the existing plant’s operating license. In November 2006, Progress Energy filed to extend the current license – which expires in 2026 – through 2046. Additional public involvement opportunities still exist in this process as well, and the
NRC is expected to complete its review and issue a decision on license renewal by the end of 2008.As a community leader, we want to keep you informed and updated on our efforts to continue providing safe, reliable and affordable power to our customers and community. Public meetings are an important part of this
process and will give you an opportunity to learn more about the filing of the application and also provide an opportunity to ask questions should you decide to attend. Please contact me if you have any additional questions.Marty Clayton
Progress Energy
Manager – Community Relations
919 878-5300
www.progress-energy.com
www.savethewatts.com
It’s good that Progress Energy has requested a license application for the operation of two more units. It will create much needed jobs. Its a big step for what Progress Energy is doing, considering the America was left in the dust when is comes to nuclear as a means of creating power (just look at the rest of the world). We need to build more units to phase out the steam plants of oil and coal and turn back to nuclear and hydroelectric, after all the climate is not getting any cooler and going to nuclear power is a safe and exceedingly more efficient way to product power. Now about the whole waste disposal…what do you want them to do? Companies that own nuclear plants have been giving money to our government to build a facility to put that waste in and to no surprise that has not happen. Poor little Yucca mountain will never see the day that it becomes much more than a hill of dirt. I don’t know about that fifty mile radius around the plant. It seems to me that no matter how many units are at a nuclear plant that does not increase the unit: “Mile Impact Zone ratio. Take a look at where other reactors are…there is one in the center of Raleigh at North Carolina State University.