Combined Construction and Operating License
Encyclopedia
The Combined Construction and Operating License (Regulatory Guide 1.206, COL) replaced the previous Draft Regulatory Guide 1145 as the licensing process for new nuclear power
plants in the United States. It is a part of a new "streamlined" process that is hoped to prevent delays in operation that contributed to the mothballing of many plants since the 1980s.
Previously, the licensing process had two steps, construction and operation, each of which required a different license to be issued. Oppositions raised before a plant started operation versus before it started construction could thus be extremely financially damaging to a utility. A COL alone, however, is still not enough to construct a nuclear plant, an Early Site Permit (ESP) application must also be filed. The ESP addresses the site that plant will be built on while the COL addresses the reactor design and construction. The COL and the ESP can happen simultaneously.
Two COL applications have been filed as of November 2007. Three ESP applications have been filed by Dominion
, Entergy
, and Exelon
.
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
plants in the United States. It is a part of a new "streamlined" process that is hoped to prevent delays in operation that contributed to the mothballing of many plants since the 1980s.
Previously, the licensing process had two steps, construction and operation, each of which required a different license to be issued. Oppositions raised before a plant started operation versus before it started construction could thus be extremely financially damaging to a utility. A COL alone, however, is still not enough to construct a nuclear plant, an Early Site Permit (ESP) application must also be filed. The ESP addresses the site that plant will be built on while the COL addresses the reactor design and construction. The COL and the ESP can happen simultaneously.
Two COL applications have been filed as of November 2007. Three ESP applications have been filed by Dominion
Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources Inc. , commonly referred to as Dominion, is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina...
, Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
, and Exelon
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an electricity generating and distributing company headquartered in the Chase Tower in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago. It was created in October, 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison...
.