The new chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dale E. Klein, says his agency is planning to gear up for a wave of license applications for as many as 27 new reactor units in the U.S. With those potential applications on the horizon, Klein says he'd like to speed up the process for reviewing them.

Klein wants to speed licensing reviews for new reactors (Photo courtesy of Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

Klein, who was sworn in July 1 as NRC's chairman, spoke at an Aug. 30 Washington, D.C., press briefing hosted by Platts, which, like Engineering News-Record, is part of the McGraw-Hill Companies.

Klein, who had been Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's assistant for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said NRC expects to get applications from as many as 16 "entities" for 27 reactor units.

While noting that he doesn't know how many applications actually will be filed, Klein says expressions of interest from some companies "are very, very strong," He cites Southern Nuclear Operating Co.'s application, which was submitted Aug. 15, seeking an early site permit for a unit at the Alvin W. Vogtle plant in Waynesboro, Ga.

Southern Nuclear, a unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co., filed the application on behalf of the plant's group of owners, which include Georgia Power Co., Oglethorpe Power Corp., the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the City of Dalton. The Vogtle plant has two nuclear units now.

With those possible applications in the wings, Klein says, "I would like to accelerate the review time" for a combined operating license, which he says can take 42 months. That includes 30 months for a technical review and 12 months for hearings.

He says that he believes NRC "can do it faster than 42 months," Klein said. "We will be looking at ways we can expedite the process with no compromise on safety and do it in a more predictable and timely fashion."

Related Links: Platt's Press conference with Klein , August 30, 2005

Along those lines, he says he favors standardization of nuclear plants. "I believe the public will benefit from standardization and that will make our job at the NRC more predictable and easier for the staff to review standardized plants...."

He says building a new reactor can take 48 months, but licensing one can take 42 months. "It just doesn't sound right," Klein says, "particularly if it's a standardized plant."

"We are staffing up to handle this new workload," he says.

Over all, Klein says, "We should be a tough regulator. We should be demanding but we should also be stable and predictable."

Klein who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering, has held several posts at the University of Texas at Austin, including professor in the mechanical engineering department, associate dean for research and administration at the College of Engineering. He also was the university system's vice-chancellor for special engineering programs.