The second of Georgia’s two new nuclear reactors enters commercial operation, putting a cap on a project that cost billions of dollars more and took years longer than originally predicted. Ta.
Georgia Power Co. and other owners announced a milestone for Plant Bogle’s Unit 4 on Monday. Unit 4 will join an earlier new reactor southeast of Augusta that splits atoms to create carbon-free electricity.
Unit 3 began commercial operation last summer, joining two older reactors that had been standing on the site for decades. These are the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades.
New Georgia law bans minors under 16 from using social media without parental consent
The new Vogtle reactor is now projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press. Add in the $3.7 billion that prime contractor Westinghouse paid the Bogle owners to exit construction, and the total is nearly $35 billion.
Georgia electricity customers have already paid billions of dollars for what is believed to be the most expensive power plant in history. The reactor was originally expected to cost $14 billion to build and be completed by 2017.
The power company and its political allies welcomed the completion of the power plant on Monday. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared, “We are grateful for this historic accomplishment by Georgia Power and our partners.” Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power, said Vogtle will increase the reliability and resiliency of the state’s power grid and help utilities reduce carbon emissions by 2050. They claim it will help them reach their goal of reducing it to zero.
Georgia Power Company’s Plant Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, January 20, 2023. Georgia Power announced on April 29, 2024 that its new reactor, Unit 2, has achieved commercial operation. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
“These new Bogle units will not only support the economy within our communities now and in the future, but will also demonstrate global nuclear leadership,” Womack said in a statement.
Each of the two new reactors can power half a million homes and businesses without emitting carbon dioxide.
Some of Mr. Vogtle’s opponents argue that the United States cannot achieve carbon-free electricity without nuclear power. But Georgia Power, like other power companies, plans to add more fossil fuel generation over the next few years, citing surging demand. That demand driven by computer data centers is being felt by multiple utility companies across the country.
Calculations show that even after the federal government lowers borrowing costs by guaranteeing $12 billion in loan repayments, Vogtle’s power will never be cheaper than other sources owners could have chosen.
“Despite being seven years late and billions of dollars over budget, the two new units at Plant Vogtle are finally here, at least for the foreseeable future,” said Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch. “I hope that for 80 years, the performance will be worth the extra cost.” A group that fought to limit interest rate hikes.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In Georgia, nearly all electric customers pay Vogtle. Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the reactor. A small stake is held by member-owned cooperatives, the Georgia Municipal Power Authority, and Oglethorpe Power Corporation, which provides electricity to the city of Dalton. Electric utilities in Jacksonville, Florida, the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama also have contracts to purchase Vogtle’s power.
Regulators in December approved an additional 6% rate increase for Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers to pay Vogtle’s remaining $7.56 billion in costs, leaving the company with $2.6 billion in costs. Absorbed. As a result, typical residential customers are expected to pay an additional $8.97 per month in May, on top of his $5.42 price increase that was implemented when Unit 3 went into operation.
Government officials and some utilities are looking to nuclear power to help mitigate climate change, but Vogtle’s costs could deter utilities from pursuing nuclear power. U.S. utilities took note of Vogtle’s missteps and shelved plans for 24 other reactors proposed between 2007 and 2009. Two nuclear reactors under construction in South Carolina have been abandoned. But Westinghouse is marketing its nuclear reactor designs overseas. China has announced that it will build more reactors using this design, and Bulgaria, Poland and Ukraine have also said they intend to use Westinghouse reactors to build nuclear power plants.
