Vogtle new nuclear plant is not signalling a nuclear power revival

Vogtle is progressing but nuclear revival is not ajc By Kristi Swartz, 17 Feb 13, When major construction started at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Augusta a year ago, all eyes were on what was supposed to be the rebirth of the nuclear industry after more than a generation without new plants.

The stakes were high for Georgia Power and its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co., which became responsible for showing the nation that the nuclear industry could build two reactors without major technical problems, delays or cost overruns. Consumers already were on the hook, paying for Georgia Power’s $6.1 billion portion of the project through a fee on their monthly utility bills.

The $14 billion Vogtle expansion in Waynesboro — one of the largest economic development initiatives in state history — is behind schedule, and the nuclear revival hasn’t worked out the way the industry had hoped. Ample supplies of cheap natural gas and the sluggish economy are enemies No. 1 and 2. Widespread extraction of natural gas is making it the fuel of choice for utilities, which have little demand for new power plants in a weak economy.

And last August, seven months after granting Southern and SCANA, a South Carolina energy company, licenses to build from scratch the nation’s first nuclear reactors in 30 years, federal safety regulators put a moratorium on future nuclear projects until a long-term waste storage plan was developed.

For now, utilities store the high-level spent radioactive fuel at their nuclear plants. But the government is under pressure to find a permanent solution for the fuel rods, which are so hot that they must be cooled in water before being moved to hardened casks made from massive steel and concrete. The unexpected roadblock from the federal government left the nuclear industry in limbo and has kept the focus solely on Georgia and its neighboring state……

Scheduling delays, lawsuits and looming cost increases colored Vogtle’s first year. An independent project watchdog has signaled contractor delays in building modules — parts of the reactor built elsewhere and then assembled at Vogtle’s construction site.

Those delays — over site preparation and initial construction work — have triggered a $900 million lawsuit by Georgia Power and the municipal and cooperative utilities building Vogtle against the project’s two major contractors. The contractors have filed a countersuit.

The lawsuits are two of four between the parties, and the suits are a sign of an escalating fight over who pays for cost increases. Georgia Power said it is not responsible for those delays or costs, which total $425 million for the utility, but consumers could wind up paying if the utility loses the lawsuit or settles. The PSC would have to approve any costs before they are passed on to customers.

The additional money would be on top of the $6.1 billion customers started paying in 2011. Part of that amount covers the financial costs until the reactors start producing power — currently scheduled for 2016 and 2017 though delays may push back the schedule as much as a year. The rest will pay for the project’s construction costs……

“We’re seeing a lot of red flags,” said Liz Coyle, deputy director for Georgia Watch, a consumer rights group. “It’s the little guy in Georgia that will feel all of the pain.”

A misalignment between a platform and a rail car temporarily stranded a 300-ton reactor steam vessel in December. The incident alarmed consumer activists, who already had been filling Georgia PSC meeting rooms and holding demonstrations to stop Vogtle because of safety and financial reasons.

Project skeptics feared a repeat of the past where the first two reactors at Vogtle, finished in the 1980s, ran over budget by $8 billion and took 16 years to build.

“Southern has said everything is safe, and it’s not going to impact the schedule of the project, but if history is any indication, we know that’s not true, so we’re skeptical at best,” said Courtney Hanson, spokeswoman for the grass-roots group Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, which promotes peace and environmental justice…..

In South Carolina, SCANA’s nuclear project faces similar challenges. Consumers are paying for the project’s costs as they are spent and then approved by South Carolina utility regulators……

“Any nuclear renaissance in the United States probably depends on our success at Vogtle,” said Georgia utility regulator Tim Echols. http://www.ajc.com/news/business/vogtle-is-progressing-but-nuclear-revival-is-not/nWRNw/

February 21, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA

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