BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of Southern Nuclear engineers at the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant were honored yesterday at the Nuclear Energy Assembly in Phoenix, Ariz. They received the nuclear industry's highest honor – a TIP Award – for developing a Top Industry Practice. The team claimed the 2014 GE Hitachi Vendor Award for its participation in GE Hitachi's development of the Stinger™ Automated IVVI, a new first-of-a-kind tool for performing in-vessel visual inspections.

Southern Nuclear's interest in the Stinger™ tool was piqued in 2012, when an inspection team witnessed a demonstration of remote-operated-vehicle (ROV) technology. The team quickly realized the tool's potential for improving refueling outage efficiency, and Hatch and GE Hitachi collaborated to make it happen.

"We're proud that Hatch successfully leveraged ROV technology to perform cleaning and inspection activities for the recent Unit 2 outage," said Hatch Vice President David Vineyard. "This new process took the place of labor-intensive manual inspections."

The radiation-tolerant Stinger™ tool features a unique extendable inspection camera and weld cleaning system that's operated by workers positioned hundreds of feet away from the vessel cavity.

The inspection camera leader system is remarkably maneuverable. It can pan, tilt and rotate in five axes of motion, even around corners, to obtain the optimal view. For the Unit 2 outage, inspection coverage increased 20-30 percent, and the visual quality of the exams also improved.

With traditional in-vessel visual inspections, several outage activities must be suspended during fuel shuffles and new fuel replacement, to protect workers. With ROV technology, which allowed inspection operators to work safely from a remote location, employees' exposure to radiation showed a marked improvement.

The tool also improves outage duration. In-vessel inspections can begin days earlier in the refuel process. When remote inspections are performed in parallel with critical path activities, two days are saved in the duration of the outage.

With so many benefits, others are eager to adopt the new technology. And since the process is transferable across five series of boiling water reactors, Stinger™ should provide similar gains in efficiency and savings across the industry.

"Stinger™ technology raises the bar on conventional inspection methods with significant savings in outage radiation dose, cost and duration," said Southern Nuclear project lead Gary Lofthus. "This is a great example of the Southern Nuclear - GE Hitachi alliance partnership at work."

About Southern Nuclear:
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is one of the nation's leading nuclear energy facility operators. Producing safe, reliable and environmentally friendly nuclear energy, Southern Nuclear operates a total of six units for Alabama Power and Georgia Power at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala.; the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Southern Nuclear is the licensee of two new nuclear units currently under construction at Plant Vogtle, which will be the first nuclear units constructed in the United States in more than 30 years. Southern Nuclear employs more than 3,500 skilled and dedicated professionals who are committed each day to nuclear and personal safety and the health and safety of the public. The company's headquarters is based in Birmingham, Ala.
Twitter: @SouthernNuclear; Facebook: facebook.com/southernnuclear;
www.southerncompany.com/southernnuclear

About Southern Company:
With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

Twitter: @SouthernNuclear
Facebook: facebook.com/southernnuclear
www.southerncompany.com/southernnuclear 

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SOURCE Southern Nuclear