Westinghouse's modified AP1000 reactor design seems poised for regulatory approval after the third of five Nuclear Regulatory Commission members voiced his support for approval Wednesday.
Commissioner William Magwood IV said he voted to approve the modified design. His vote forms a majority, along with Chairman Gregory Jaczko and George Apostolakis, who announced their votes earlier.
New units at Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle in Georgia and Scana's Virgil C. Summer Plant in South Carolina hinge on the design approval. Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse won NRC certification for the Generation III+ design in 2006, but later faced requirements for hardened shield building aircraft impact resistance. The modified design has cleared a number of regulatory steps since then, and it now awaits final approval by the commissioners.
A final vote before the full commission hasn't been scheduled yet. Bloomberg reported Scana still anticipates receiving approval of the design and the utility's combined license in the coming weeks or in early 2012. It still plans to bring the new reactors online in 2016 and 2018. Southern still expects its units, already under construction, to come online in 2016 and 2017.