MINERAL, Va. (AP) - The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will issue a license for a third nuclear reactor at Dominion Energy's North Anna plant in Virginia.
NRC said in a statement Wednesday the commission found the staff's review of Dominion's application to be adequate to make the regulatory safety and environmental findings. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the State Corporation Commission hasn't yet approved the project.
Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher says the company meets the new criteria for seismic activity in the region and the project has been evaluated against an earthquake at North Anna.
Kate Addleson, director of the Virginia chapter of Sierra Club, says a nuclear reactor doesn't make sense when clean energy solutions are the least expensive new forms of energy.
The estimated cost to build the reactor is about $19 billion.
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