Despite Safety and Cost Concerns, Court Upholds Permit for Nuclear Expansion Project

But Tuesday the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. rejected the environmentalists’ claim, ruling the NRC “considered precisely the types of harm that occurred as a result of the Fukushima accident.”

NRC spokesman Roger Hanna praised the decision, while acknowledging post-Fukushima reforms may still be necessary.

“The industry has already implemented some of those measures. We’re continuing to look at some short-term and long-term measures and those will be applied across the board, including to Plant Vogtle, when those decisions are finalized.”

Emory law professor Mindy Goldstein, representing the environmental groups, remains adamant that the NRC should have never approved the Vogtle expansion without first implementing the post-Fukushima reforms.

Goldstein argues the public never got a chance to fully grasp the real costs of the project prior to NRC approval.

“The agency by design is now underestimating the costs of these power plants. They’re going ahead and saying, ‘This thing makes sense now, our cost-benefit analysis makes sense now.’ But these additional changes and safety upgrades may change the entire equation,” said Goldstein.

With respect to cost, Hanna said it was never the principle focus of the NRC approval process.

“Cost is a component but it’s not the primary component. The primary component is ensuring the plant is licensed and will operate under safe circumstances,” said Hanna.

Georgia Power customers are currently paying the financing costs for the expansion project, which is so far $700 million over budget and 19 months behind schedule. An additional billion dollars of cost over-runs are currently in dispute between Georgia Power and its contractors.