Construction is set to begin on the nation's first two new nuclear units in 30 years at Southern Company (NYSE: SO) subsidiary Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, Ga.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted today to approve the issuance of the Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4, the first such license ever approved for a U.S. nuclear plant. Receipt of the COL signifies that full construction can begin.

"This is a monumental accomplishment for Southern Company, Georgia Power, our partners and the nuclear industry," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "We are committed to bringing these units online to deliver clean, safe and reliable energy to our customers. The project is on track, and our targets related to cost and schedule are achievable."

The company expects to deliver to customers more than $1 billion in benefits from the Department of Energy loan guarantees, production tax credits and recovering financing costs during construction.

Georgia Power expects Unit 3 to begin operating in 2016 and Unit 4 in 2017.

"The governor and lieutenant governor of Georgia, the Public Service Commission and members of Georgia's General Assembly had the vision and foresight to make bold decisions to help ensure a secure energy and economic future for the state," said Georgia Power President and CEO Paul Bowers. "The new Vogtle units will provide our customers and the communities we serve with clean, affordable, reliable energy.

"Our communities and our country will benefit from this more than $14 billion investment, representing 4,000 to 5,000 jobs on site during peak construction, and in the process creating over 25,000 direct and indirect jobs by this project alone," Bowers added.

The approval of the Vogtle COL was a joint effort with NuStart Energy Development, a partnership of 10 power companies created in 2004 to obtain a COL using the new streamlined licensing process and complete the design engineering for the selected reactor technologies. In 2009, NuStart named Vogtle the reference plant for the Westinghouse AP1000® technology.

"The efforts of NuStart and the Department of Energy were vital to achieving this license," Fanning said. "In addition, the NRC's technical staff conducted a thorough evaluation and determined the Vogtle design is safe and meets all regulatory requirements."

Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is overseeing construction and will operate the two new 1,100-megawatt AP1000 units for Georgia Power and co-owners Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities. Georgia Power owns 45.7 percent of the new units, with a certified cost of $6.1 billion.