美国核电历史

First new nuclear reactors OK'd in over 30 years

By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoney

February 9, 2012: 2:50 PM ET

An artist rendering of the AP 1000

AP1000d的艺术渲染图

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of two new reactors at Georgia's Vogtle plant. It's the first new construction license for a reactor granted in over 30 years.

NRC同意在佐治亚州的沃格特建设两座AP1000反应堆。这是30多年来美国首次颁发新的建造许可证。NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved licenses to build two new nuclear reactors Thursday, the first authorized in over 30 years.

NRC周四同意颁发两座新反应堆的建造许可，这是30多年来的第一次建造授权

The reactors are being built in Georgia by a consortium of utilities led by Southern Co. (SO, Fortune 500) They will be sited at the Vogtle nuclear power plant complex, about 170 miles east of Atlanta. The plant already houses two older reactors.

反应堆由南方公司总负责在佐治亚州进行建造。沃格特核电厂的位置在亚特兰大以东170英里，包括两个反应堆。

"Today marks an advancement in our nation's energy policy," Southern Company chief executive Thomas Fanning said at a press conference after the approval. "The project is on track, and our targets related to cost and schedule are achievable."

“今天标志着我国能源政策的进步”，南方公司的首席执行官Thomas Fanning在新闻发布会后表示，“项目稳步进展，建设费用和进度都不存在问题。”

The 5-member NRC voted in favor of the licenses four to one, with Chairman Gregory Jaczko dissenting. Jaczko said the new licenses don't go far enough in requiring the builders to incorporate lessons learned from the Japanese nuclear disaster last year.

5名NRC成员以4:1的投票赞成办法许可证，其中NRC主席Gregory Jaczko投了反对票。Jaczko说新的许可证并没有要求新建核电厂充分吸取日本核灾难的经验教训。

Although new nuclear reactors have come online in the United States within the last couple of decades -- the last one started operation in 1996 -- the NRC hasn't issued a license to build a new reactor since 1978, a year before the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. Reactors that have opened in the last decades received their initial licenses before 1978.

尽管在过去几十年间美国有也有新的反应堆并网发电，其中最晚的在1996年才开始运行，但，NRC自1978年（宾斯法尼亚的三哩岛事故前一年）起就没有在颁发过新的建造许可证。过去几十年间投运的核电厂均是在1978年之前就获得了许可证。

The combination of the Three Mile Island incident and the high costs of nuclear power turned many utilities away from the technology.

三哩岛事故和核电的高额投入是的很多机构远离了核电技术。

The utilities building the new Vogtle reactors submitted their application seven years ago. Prep-work at the site has been under way for some time, but construction on actual reactors couldn't begin until the final license was issued.

建造新的沃格特核电厂的单位在7年前向NRC递交了申请。在场址上的前期工作也陆续开展过，但是建造反应堆必须有最终许可证。

How close is your home to a nuclear plant?

你家离核电厂有多近？

The new reactors are a Westinghouse design called the AP 1000. Together they are expected to cost $14 billion and provide 2200 megawatts of power, according to a spokesman for Southern Co. That's enough to power 1 million homes.

新反应堆是西屋公司设计的AP1000型反应堆。根据南方公司发言人的表述，该核电厂将共计要投入140亿美元，提供2200兆瓦的电力供应，将能够满足100万家庭的需要。

The plants are being built with the help of a conditional $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. The loan guarantee is part of DOE's broader loan program that has been criticized for backing companies like Solyndra, the bankrupt maker of solar panels.

核电厂的建造将获得美国能源部的83亿美元的有条件贷款担保。该贷款担保是美国能源部大范围贷款计划的一部分，该计划因为支持诸如象破产的太阳能板公司Solyndra等公司而饱受批评。

The Southern spokesman said the loan guarantee, combined with other regulatory measures, enable the project to receive cheaper financing that will ultimately save ratepayers $1 billion.

南方公司的发言人称该贷款担保集合其他的政策措施能够保证该项目获得优惠的融资，并最终节省地方纳税人约10亿美元。

The first reactor is expected to come online in 2016 and the second one in 2017, according to Southern Co. The AP 1000 is the newest NRC-approved nuclear reactor. This would be the first one built in the United States, although four are already under construction in China, said Scott Shaw, a Westinghouse spokesman.

根据南方公司的信息，首个反应堆预计在2016年并网，第二个反应堆将在2017年并网。AP1000是NRC 最新批准的反应堆。西屋公司的发言人Scott Shaw称目前已有四个AP1000反应堆在中国建造，而这将是AP1000反应堆在美国的首次建造。

Critics have said the containment walls of the AP 1000 aren't strong enough to withstand a terrorist attack, but Shaw says they were redesigned after September 11, 2001 and have held up during simulations.

但也有批评认为AP1000的安全壳并不能抵御恐怖袭击，但是Shaw表示在2001年9月11日之后，他们重新进行了设计并且模拟证明没有问题。

He also said the design's passive cooling system makes it much safer than older designs. The AP 1000 uses gravity and condensation -- not electricity -- to cool the fuel rods.