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David Jones at the Plant Vogtle construction site.
Career comes full circle
David Jones, vice president on-site for Southern Nuclear, began his career 30 years ago as a co-op student at the construction site of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Bellefonte nuclear plant. Jones admits he never dreamed he would be overseeing the development at Plant Vogtle of the first nuclear plant constructed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
"My career has definitely come full circle," said Jones. "I am extremely excited to be able to get this opportunity. To lead this project is a humbling experience."
Jones was named Vogtle 3 and 4 site vice president in March. He met with members of the Burke County community to introduce himself.
"I think the community is excited," said Jones. "This plant means a lot to this community and they want us to be successful."
Jones' career has come full circle in more ways than one. NuStart Energy, a consortium of electric utilities, including Southern Company, announced in April that Plant Vogtle would be the reference plant for Westinghouse AP1000 technology. NuStart picked Bellefonte in 2005 as the initial site to develop the AP1000 reactors.
NuStart Energy, which is helping fund the development of new reactor designs, said that all future combined operating license (COL) applications for AP1000 technology in the U.S. will reference documentation approved by the NRC from the Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 application.
"NuStart picked us because we were moving faster in our development," said Jones. "We are the first to receive an early site permit. Everyone is looking to see what we are going to do."
Jones said a lot of things have changed since the last nuclear plant was built in the U.S. The last license to result in the construction and operation of a new nuclear plant in the U.S. was issued in 1973 to the TVA for the construction of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.
Watts Bar Unit 1, the last commercial nuclear unit in the U.S. to come on line in the 20th century, began commercial operation in May 1996.
The U.S. nuclear industry has been virtually frozen since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. No company has followed through with plans to build a new nuclear plant since the accident.
"Lessons learned have improved the design," said Jones. "It will be a modular type construction, which means several sections can be assembled on-site. It will have 50 percent less cable and 50 percent less piping."
Pending appropriate approvals, Unit 3 will begin operating in 2016, and Unit 4 will become operational in 2017.