Power plant boosts economy
Industry report says Louisa County power plant good for the region's economy
Date published: 4/15/2008
By RUSTY DENNEN
The North Anna Power Station and its two nuclear reactors do more than produce electricity, according to an industry report.
The plant on Lake Anna generates jobs and economic benefits for the region and state of over $700 million a year, says the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The Washington, D.C.-based institute is the nuclear energy industry's policy organization. Dominion, the power company which owns the plant, is an NEI member.
The report says that the direct economic benefit of electricity production at North Anna is $600 million, with secondary benefits to the state totaling about $150 million.
In addition, Dominion pays Louisa County approximately $11 million in property taxes each year, and makes about $23 million in purchases in Virginia.
The plant "is vital to the economies of Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania counties," Richard Myers, NEI vice president of policy development, said in a press release.
Dominion wants to get the word out about the economics of the plant. It's seeking permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to add a third reactor at the site in Mineral.
If that's approved, and the company decides to build it, more jobs and payroll would flow into the region.
The report said North Anna's two reactors produced more than 15 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2006--about 20 percent of the power generated in Virginia that year.
The cost of producing a kilowatt hour of electricity at North Anna was $1.38 in 2006, compared to $2.74 cents for other utilities in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Other highlights of the report:
Full-time plant workers living in Louisa earn an average of $60,400 a year. About 960 people work at the plant.
Other county workers earn about $56,400 a year on average.
North Anna's expenditures for products, services and labor in the three surrounding counties were more than $58 million in 2006.
North Anna produces enough electricity to power about 450,000 homes. Units 1 and 2 came on line in 1978 and 1980, respectively.
It's one of four nuclear power plants owned by Dominion. The others are Surry on the James River, Millstone in Connecticut, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin.
Read the full report: nei.org
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
| UNIT 3 APPLICATION
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold an information session tomorrow night on Dominion power's application for a combined license to build and operate a third reactor at North Anna Power Station.
The agency will discuss the review process for the project on Lake Anna, some 30 miles from Fredericksburg.
An informal open house tomorrow is from 6 to 7 p.m. at Louisa County High School, followed by a public meeting from 7 to 10 p.m. The school is located at 757 Davis Highway, Mineral.
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Date published: 4/15/2008
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