nuclear-news

The clock is ticking on the nuclear renaissance

 Last week, Georgia Power revealed the latest delay to the expansion of
Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power station near Augusta which contains the first
new reactors built entirely from scratch in the US for more than three
decades. The company said unit 4 of the plant would not begin generating
power before the end of March due to the discovery of vibrations in a
cooling system in the reactor.

A similar problem affected the launch of
unit 3 before it finally began operating this past July, after seven years
of delays. Georgia Power said the problem with Vogtle’s unit 4 had been
fixed and it should begin operating in the second quarter.

But the disclosure marks the latest in a series of delays and cost overruns at the
flagship US project, which is forecast to cost more than double the
original price tag of $14bn.

Across the Atlantic, the UK’s plan to reboot
its nuclear sector has also run into trouble. Last month, French utility
EDF announced that Britain’s flagship Hinkley Point C power plant had
been delayed until 2029 at the earliest, with the cost spiralling to as
much as £46bn in today’s prices. The initial budget was £18bn, with a
scheduled completion date of 2025, but the project has faced repeated
setbacks. EDF cited the complexity of installing electromechanical systems
and intricate piping at the site in Somerset for the most recent delay.

The French government is pressing London to plug a multibillion-pound hole in
the budget of nuclear power projects being built in Britain by EDF. Both
projects are showcases for new, advanced, pressurised water reactors —
EDF’s EPR in the UK and Westinghouse’s AP1000 in the US —
underscoring the critical importance of getting them up and running as soon
as possible to encourage other customers to commit to the technologies.

US officials warn time is running out for the nuclear industry to prove it can
contribute to the country’s 2050 climate goals due to the long lead times
required to build reactors. Between five to 10 contracts to build new units
need to be signed within the next two to three years to enable the sector
to reach the commercial lift-off required to provide enough clean power by
the middle of the century.

 FT 6th Feb 2024

https://www.ft.com/content/3777fb7f-4e7c-4ced-91b9-8de12a0cd428

February 9, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs