![]() Separately, Fanning said Georgia Power sent a plan to Georgia regulators that, if approved, would lead to the retirement of all coal units the utility controls by 2028, except for Plant Boeing Units 3 and 4, which are scheduled to be retired no later than 2035. Georgia Power has already voted to proceed. Other Vogtle owners include Oglethorpe Power Corp (30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (22.7%) and Dalton Utilities (1.6%).įanning said the latest delays and cost overruns require the owners to vote to proceed with the project by March 8. Some analysts estimate total costs have ballooned to more than $27 billion following delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, the nuclear accident at Japan's Fukushima plant in 2011 and the 2017 bankruptcy of Westinghouse, the project's former contractor. When Georgia approved the Vogtle expansion in 2009, the two 1,117-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 reactors were expected to cost about $14 billion and enter service in 20. The Vogtle reactors, which are already billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, are the only U.S. Georgia Power, which owns 45.7% of Vogtle, delayed the projected in-service dates to between the fourth quarter of 2022-first quarter of 2023 for Unit 3 and the third-fourth quarters of 2023 for Unit 4. Southern CEO Thomas Fanning told analysts on an earnings call that increased costs were related to a three- to six-month delay in the planned startup of the reactors. Southern said the cost increase caused its Georgia Power unit to take a $686 million after-tax charge during the fourth quarter. energy company Southern Co (SO.N) on Thursday boosted estimated costs for its Georgia Power utility's share of two nuclear reactors under construction at the Vogtle plant in Georgia to around $10.4 billion from roughly $9.5 billion. Lyman blamed what he called "inappropriate optimism" about nuclear power that ignores the huge start-up costs and safety risks.Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. "It's clear the nuclear renaissance has been significantly slowed," said Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group. The construction of two 1,154 MW reactors has been hailed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu as 'the first new nuclear power plant to break ground in decades'. It commenced operation in 1949, and moved to Georgia in 1950. The once-expected nuclear power boom has been plagued by a series of problems, from the prolonged economic downturn to the sharp drop in the price of natural gas and the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan. A new holding company, Southern Company, was incorporated in Delaware on November 9, 1945. More than two dozen nuclear reactors have been proposed in recent years, but experts now say it is likely that only five or six new reactors will be completed by the end of the decade. The Obama administration has offered the Vogtle project $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees as part of its pledge to expand nuclear power. President Barack Obama and other proponents say greater use of nuclear power could cut the nation's reliance on fossil fuels and create energy without producing emissions blamed for global warming. He said the NRC vote "sounds a clarion call to the world that the United States recognizes the importance of expanding nuclear energy as a key component of a low-carbon energy future that is central to job creation, diversity of electricity supply and energy security." "This is a historic day," said Marvin Fertel, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. The planned reactors, along with two others in South Carolina expected to win approval in coming months, are the remnants of a once-anticipated building boom that the power industry dubbed the "nuclear renaissance." The head of an industry lobbying group said the Vogtle project could be the start of a smaller renaissance that expands nuclear power in the United States. After that accident, fears of a radiation release were heightened and new reactor orders were brought nearly to a halt. The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the company's plans on a 4-1 vote. (OPC, 30), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG, 22.7. hopes to begin operating the $14 billion reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta as soon as 2016. The Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is jointly owned by Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power (45.7), Oglethorpe Power Corp. It often indicates a user profile.Ītlanta-based Southern Co. ![]() Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |