The 3rd Pillar- Savannah River Site & Plant Vogtle

3rd pillar- Nuclear

(This report is being written and edited on a constant basis by Morrison Marketing. Morrison Marketing is a small marketing firm in Augusta, Georgia serving small business in the area. We design websites, create logos, give consulting advice and pretty much anything to do with growing or starting your business. I am a 23 Y/o Augusta Tech graduate and love my city, I will work very hard for you and your business, for money, but also out of love for this subject and my city. I have many blogs, reports, YouTube videos covering issues relevant to Augusta and her economy. If you have any concerns, information for me, would like to discuss business issues or would like me to work to grow your business, please email me at AugustaEconomy@gmail.com, thanks, lets grow this city and make something happen -Michael Morrison, Morrison Marketing "A proud to be Augusta, Georgia company)

Plant Vogtle

(The two towers above and the accompanying structures represent the cold era way of making nuclear energy. The land here is highly capitalized and is a hotbed of activity. The main objective is to simply create energy. This is the safest and most efficient way to create energy and may look environmentally unfriendly, but saves the atmosphere tons of carbon waste and allows cheap energy, an absolutely crucial aspect to an economy. The large projects of this scale are proportional to the energy demands of the United States and as energy needs increase, places like this become more and more necessary to meet the demands)

     Plant Vogtle is a Nuclear Energy Facility located in Burke County, Georgia, right under Augusta, Georgia. The plant is one of the only plants in the world currently under expansion and has recently been awarded a 20 year license to continue operations, a strong positive sign of public approval of the plant and a commitment to a long term plan and not the sway of the moment. With the accident of Fukushima happening in 2011, there are 100's of projects being abandoned worldwide, this is not one. This event has had a minimal effect on the mood of nuclear energy for this facility and, if anything, has strengthened the commitment to safety. The Economic input, conservation efforts and charitable activities of Southern Company, the main stakeholder in Vogtle, is greatly appreciated.

     Plant Vogtle is a success story, due to proper planning, large capitalization and strong support by the community and the nation. It truly represents the coming together of many complex factors and of a plan being well executed. The tedious functions of a nuclear facility are in the hands of many Augusta citizens who work here and they recognize and understand the importance and pivotal importance there job has, namely the consequences of a nuclear accident. They understand that, in their hands, they can either make energy cheaper than it ever has been and advance scientific research through allowing the practice of nuclear activity, or they can doom and damn nuclear energy for the prolonged future, causing a stifled scientific presence and higher energy costs. 

     The local community of Augusta is very supportive of any growth at Vogtle. They see the direct employment it provides and have derived great beenfit from it. Many business owners in Burke County and Southern Richmond County derive up to 50% of their revenue from this entities payroll, namely landlords and restaurant owners. The local populace is much less concerned with environmental issues compared with French, German and Japanese citizens and glad that we can reap the benefits of being on such a crucial edge. Many locals understand the science behind it and have done their own research. Most have come up with the conclusion that it is safe and feel comfortable with it in our backyard. Many are proud to lead the nation and become a shining example and commitment to nuclear energy. 

     This plant is owned by Georgia Power (45.7%), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (22.7%) and Dalton Utilities (1.6%). Vogtle produces electricity through nuclear The two smokestacks above produce around 2400 MW of power when both online. This is one of the only nuclear plants in the world that is seeking to expand, after many were abandoned with the 3/11 incident in Japan and the Fukushima disaster. With the political environment in many countries rendering nuclear energy with a taboo, the CSRA proves to be a positive place for nuclear energy politically. 

     While there has not been a serious incident yet, there are constant planning and preparation going on to ensure that any event and possible action is accounted for. Tornado's, Earthquake's and major thunderstorms are constantly monitored, by a team of people who's job it is to do this 24/7. The Plant is designed to withstand a 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake, Massive flooding and a category 5 Tornado throwing cars around at 360 MPH. Despite the common misconception, the nuclear material here is not enriched to "Explode", it designed for nuclear fission, which can "Explode". After 9/11 a study was commissioned to see if the plant can withstand a large commercial airplane directly crashing into the cooling towers, which house the nuclear material which would be the target in such an event, the towers would withstand multiple commercial airplanes in direct crashes and even then, it is doubted that the integrity of the structure would be unsound. 

(One of several monitoring rooms, these places highlight the most advanced technological aspects of our time. The most cutting edge computer systems are present in this room. The level of importance and seriousness in this room is unparalleled. Here is where people can "Play God")

     The facility is completely air-locked, any pipes and entrances are valved off and in any sign of trouble the towers are compartmentalized and immediately sealed. The facility goes into lock down mode and the nuclear material is sealed and almost impossible to mix with the atmosphere. In event of power loss from the off-site power plant (A power plant to power a power plant), there are Diesel power generators, DC batteries and even manual systems that operate without any electric power. 

(2 of these are being prepared for construction at Plant Vogtle. These represent the vast amount of research and improvement from the Japanese, French, Russian, Iranian and other incidents of nuclear power plants that occurred since the finishing of the 2 older reactors. This affects the economy of Augusta by of course, bringing in nuclear physicists and the such, but in a geographical way connecting us to Japan. The company that is selling the USA, UK, Canada, German and South Korean energy companies these reactors is owned and operated by Toshiba, a Japanese company that leads the world in building and actually making the components of the nuclear process. This reflects the heaviest and most specialized of exchange in the modern world. The workshops of Japan have the technology and capacity to construct these complex entities and the CSRA has the land and labor for it. Trade between Augusta and Japan has enabled each country to do what they do best and to make some power)

     The amount of construction going on and that has happened at Vogtle is astounding. Over 14 billion dollars. Most of the construction workers are from Augusta and the skills they bring will make sure the labor force has plenty of skilled carpenters and related trades. For every nuclear scientist that will be employed there will be much more tradesman who assist in the plant. The large slice of blue collar labor available in South Augusta and Burke County provide the necessary labor for such expansion. 

This is a sampling of some jobs offered at Plant Vogtle

• I&C - Nuclear Planning & Scheduling Specialist, Southern Company
• Civil Field Engineer - Vogtle, Shaw Group
• Nuclear Licensing Engineer, Plant Vogtle 3 & 4, Southern Company
• Sr. Electrical Field Engineer - Vogtle, Shaw Group
• Senior Director - Vogtle Nuclear Construction Project, Shaw Group
• Electrical Engineer - Plant Vogtle Units 3&4, Southern Company
• Digital I&C Engineer - Plant Vogtle 3&4, Southern Company
• Fire Protection Engineer - Plant Vogtle 1&2, Southern Company
• Project Manager- Schedule Compliance (Vogtle), WestingHouse Corp.
• Material Requisition Specialist / Planner-Jones/Vogtle, System One
• Air Operated Valve (AOV) Engineer - Plant Vogtle 1&2, Southern Company

Savannah River Site

      Savannah River Site employs over 10,000 people in a range of activities that span the income and skill spectrum. There are scientists here for some of the worlds most advanced research, many have connections with MIT, Georgia Tech, University of Chicago  Harvard, Yale Princeton  Cali-Berkeley and other elite schools. The site was originally a plant that made some components of atomic weapons, but now they convert some of those weapons into nuclear material for energy purposes and store nuclear waste.  The site incorporated an entire town and is geographically safely positioned away from centers of large population. The site itself is 310 square miles. Future uses includes hosting research reactors, a reactor park for power generation, and other possible uses.

                           

     When the 2008-09 stimulus came around the Savannah River Site Nuclear Facility was the largest single recipient of stimulus dollars. The massive interjection from the Federal level was welcomed, but the spin down leaves a problem, a good problem in some senses, but still a problem of more people entering the workforce when the stimulus was supposed to improve the scenario. The stimulus was very secular and non-lasting, although the activities were needed, the dollars would have been in better use with the tax-payer. That being said, Augusta is poised to get "its fair share" of future stimulus dollars for future cleaning and waste removal projects, there are not many nuclear sites to split the funds up between and the public demand for action can be overwhelming in this subject, elected officials have a high incentive to bring what they can to this entity, through lobbying and through constituents demands. One of the unseen parts of operating a nuclear power plant is the burden of regulations and compliance. The Savannah River Site is a place talked of in Washington DC and to them, it may be a place on a piece of paper, but here the expansion  or contraction of Vogtle is of the utmost importance to the economy. There is plenty of money to be gathered for "representation" in DC, Atlanta and wherever else people decide what goes on in Augusta, Georgia. Vogtle should, at least, be a hassle to cut from and find some resistance from lobbyists and politicians themselves.

     The Savannah River Site also has one of 12 national laboratories, a distinction of leading research in an area for national purposes. The areas served at this national laboratory include, environmental remediation, technologies for the hydrogen economy, handling of hazardous materials, a field demonstration site for testing and evaluating environmental cleanup technologies, and laboratories for ultra-sensitive measurement and analysis of radioactive materials. and technologies for prevention of nuclear proliferation. There are over 900 employees and the budget for the laboratory is 210 million.

(The pictures above are a nuclear facility that manufactures components to nuclear processes such as MOX (mixed oxide fuel), stores nuclear materials and conducts nuclear research)

     Augusta Technical College has a program that works closely with the government to provide nuclear facilities with the entry level labor needed. STEM funding is also helping to fund Georgia Regents University in crucial areas that will start a ripple by introducing students to science, but most of the scientists who end up working at SRS or Vogtle will come from outside the CSRA, Georgia and America itself. 

     Georgia Regents University is building its nuclear research departments and will soon undoubtedly tap into the power of the labor force of the advanced research going on at these facilities. One thing Augusta could improve in is improving the Sync between the Universities, Fort Gordon and the nuclear facilities research. All together they could save some taxpayer money by having some students/soldiers at SRS or Plant Vogtle. The paperwork would be immense and safety issues are at hand though and the decision is made on that, not necessarily economics. I do trust these organizations to collaborate as much as possible, as their human capital is rare and benefits off of collaboration between sectors and purposes. 

(This is a machine that has been used to test commercial heavy water reactors. It is being decommissioned and serves as a good example of what SRS does. They are dealing a lot with the transition to future nuclear technology by disposing of the past)

(This is "Tizzy", a robot designed and built specifically by the Savannah River Remediation section of SRS for tank waste removal)

     The expertise and division of skill needed for the jobs necessary in operations of a nuclear plant are very highly paid and contribute a lot to the diversity of labor in the economy. Not every city has 2 nuclear facilities in there vicinity and with such large a payroll. The contribution these people make to the academic atmosphere is valuable, as there are many opportunities for people interested in science to find others who share that interest. The examples they can have on Augustan citizens through being role models or connections into the industry themselves. Many whole families work at SRS and Plant Vogtle.