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A blow to USA nuclear industry in abandonment of two new South Carolina reactors , already costing $9 billion

U.S. Nuclear Comeback Stalls as Two Reactors Are Abandoned, NYT 31 July 17 By BRAD PLUMER JULY 31, 2017, In a major blow to the future of nuclear power in the United States, two South Carolina utilities said on Monday that they would abandon two unfinished nuclear reactors in the state, putting an end to a project that was once expected to showcase advanced nuclear technology but has since been plagued by delays and cost overruns.

The two reactors, which have cost the utilities roughly $9 billion, remain less than 40 percent built. The cancellation means there are just two new nuclear units being built in the country — both in Georgia — while more than a dozen older nuclear plants are being retired in the face of low natural gas prices………

The two nuclear reactors still being built in Georgia are both AP1000s at the existing Vogtle nuclear power plant. Southern Company has agreed to take over construction of the Vogtle reactors in the aftermath of Westinghouse’s bankruptcy, but that project is also facing delays and overruns. The reactors will have to come online before 2021 to qualify for federal tax credits, although Congress is working on a bill to extend that deadline…..

Mr. Powell said the failure of the South Carolina project should not necessarily doom those advanced designs. But, he said, “This will still be a blow to nuclear supply chains, and it could make those new reactors [small modular nuclear reactors SMRs] incrementally more difficult to build.”

August 2, 2017 - Posted by | business and costs, USA

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