Public meeting planned on Duke's proposed nuclear power plant

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a public meeting May 1 to receive comments about Duke Energy's plans to build a nuclear power plant here.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Gaffney High School auditorium. People who wish to comment can register from 5-7 p.m. Each person will have three minutes to speak.

Duke Energy submitted a construction and operating license (COL) application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December. The energy supplier is working on plans to build a two-unit nuclear plant on a 2,000-acre site off McKowns Mountain Road.

The NRC will spend the next 42 months reviewing the 8,000-page license application to operate the William States Lee III Nuclear Station in Cherokee County, said Bryan Dolan, vice president of nuclear plant development. As part of the license review, the commission will include comments from residents in an environmental impact study.

The NRC is expected to finish its review of Duke Energy's COL application in 2011.

Duke Energy briefed community leaders on the project at a luncheon Monday in Stephenson Dining Hall at Limestone College.

Duke Energy expects to complete demolition work at the site this summer, Dolan said. The company has finished digging out two cooling ponds. Steel and concrete will be recycled from the construction site.

"We've had a lot of activity on site," Dolan said. "It's a very complex process, but we're committed to the project."

Duke Energy filed an application in December with the South Carolina Public Service Commission. The energy supplier is seeking permission to recover up to $230 million that Duke estimates it will spend in pre-construction costs in developing the facility.

Duke Energy is working on the project to help meet the increasing needs of its customer base, Dolan said. The energy supplier is adding between 40,000 to 60,000 customers each year in North and South Carolina.

"We want to keep the nuclear power option available as an option," Dolan said. "We will continue to undergo an annual planning process and run models to determine if this is the best way to meet our customers' needs."

The company already operates the Oconee Nuclear Plant on Lake Keowee, the Catawba plant on Lake Wylie in York County and the McGuire plant on Lake Norman outside Charlotte.

"We pride ourselves in being a very good nuclear plant operator," said Dhiaa Jamil, chief nuclear officer for Duke Energy. "Safety and reliability has always been our concern, and we've learned a lot in the process. Now we want to apply it to the new design in the Lee plant."

If it moves forward with the project, Duke Energy estimates the $4 billion project would bring as many as 1,100 jobs to Cherokee County. This is in addition to other jobs produced from companies and suppliers that would locate here to support the nuclear plant.

The plant could be operational by 2018 if Duke Energy chooses to build the nuclear power station.