U.S. Department of Energy officials plan to celebrate Friday the completion of Georgia Power’s controversial nuclear power expansion at the Vogtle plant in Waynesboro.
President Joe Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will tour the Vogtle plant, which has become the nation’s largest nuclear power plant and largest source of free electricity carbon. It is estimated that over the next 60 to 80 years, the two new nuclear units will generate enough electricity for one million homes and businesses.
The historic occasion is also being marked by representatives of Georgia Power, the Georgia Public Utilities Commission, top state legislators and several other business and community leaders who say the project is a shining example of how nuclear power can create renewable energy. high quality and well paid. jobs while producing electricity in a way that tackles the climate crisis.
Vogtle’s two units are the first nuclear reactors to be built in the United States in more than 30 years, and supporters of the project say Vogtle demonstrates how nuclear power can create good-paying jobs while also producing electricity in a way that combats climate change.
Six Georgia energy and consumer groups released a report Thursday analyzing the true cost of nuclear power, citing serious problems during construction of Vogtle that resulted in seven years of delays and $21 billion in cost overruns.
The two Vogtle units were under construction for 15 years at a cost of $36.8 billion. Unit 3 was completed in August, while Unit 4 began producing electricity in April.
Vogtle could serve as a sales pitch for further nuclear development in the United States, as the Biden-Harris administration will host a summit at the White House this week to highlight ongoing collaboration between the public and private sectors.
The Biden-Harris administration announced Wednesday the formation of a working group on nuclear energy projects made up of nuclear energy and megaconstruction experts.
The White House issued a statement this week saying that nuclear energy has been the largest source of clean energy for decades, currently accounting for 19% of national energy production and directly employing 60,000 workers.
“Along with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, a new generation of nuclear reactors is drawing the attention of a wide range of stakeholders to nuclear energy’s ability to produce clean, reliable energy and meet the needs of a rapidly growing economy, fueled by President Biden’s American investment agenda and the manufacturing boom,” the White House statement said.
However, a report released by Georgia consumer advocates argues that further nuclear development is not the best course of action for the future of the country’s energy supply.
The report, Plant Vogtle: the True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States, was commissioned by Georgia consumer advocacy organizations such as the Center for a Sustainable Coast, Concerned Ratepayers of Georgia and Cool Planet Solutions. It was written by Kim Scott, executive director of Georgia WAND, Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South, and Patty Durand, former president of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and Democratic Party candidate for state PSC.
The average Georgia Power residential customer began paying an additional $5.42 per month, or a 3.2% increase, after Unit 3 began commercial operations last August.
The two Vogtle units triggered the latest in a series of rate increases that Georgia Power customers will continue to endure in the coming months.
According to the report, Georgia ratepayers’ average monthly bill will increase by $35 over the next two decades as Vogtle Units 3 and 4 become operational, or more than double the $15 increase Georgia Power currently estimates.
The report argues that the average Georgia Power household bill will increase by $420 a year to cover the cost of nuclear energy, which is seven times more expensive to produce than wind, solar and natural gas.
The analysis says shareholders of Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Co., will continue to benefit from Vogtle’s financial windfall as the utility significantly expands its rate base.
The report’s authors blame Georgia Power officials for a decade-long pattern of providing misleading cost estimates to state regulators to continue justifying Vogtle’s expansion. Vogtle’s construction was plagued by delays due to worker shortages, a strike, technical problems and its original contractor, Westinghouse Electric Co., which filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Vehicle that left the Vogtle plant nuclear expansion site in 2019 heading nowhere. John McCosh/Georgia Recorder
Brionté McCorkle, co-author of the report and executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, said Plant Vogtle is a warning to the rest of the country and that Georgians deserve safe, clean and affordable energy instead of wasting money to start up Georgia’s nuclear reactors. Vogtle.
“Imagine all the investments in renewable energy, battery storage and energy efficiency we could have made in the time it took to build the two new reactors at the Vogtle Plant for a fraction of the cost,” McCorkle said in a statement. “Imagine what we could have done with the $35 billion instead of throwing it into this radioactive money pit.”
Scott, CEO of Georgia WAND, said Georgia Power is more concerned about its own economic interests since Vogtle’s expansion is leaving its customers with exorbitant energy bills.
“So it is clear that Georgia Power is looking out for its own economic interests and is not concerned about moving Georgia toward a clean energy economy, much less protecting the health of Georgians who live in and around the Vogtle nuclear power plant.” . Scott said.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and House Speaker Jon Burns joined executives from Oglethorpe Power, co-owner of Georgia Power and Vogtle, the Georgia Municipal Electric Authority and Dalton Utilities to celebrate the Vogtle project earlier this week.
Georgia Power owns 45.7% of Plant Vogtle, followed by Oglethorpe Power Corporation with 30%, Georgia Municipal Electric Authority with 22.7% and Dalton Utilities with 1.6%.
Kim Greene, president and CEO of Georgia Power, said the new Vogtle units are a key component in supporting the company’s goal of meeting growing demand for electricity in Georgia. A large part of that demand is driven by the opening of new data centers across the state.
“As we celebrate the completion of the Vogtle 3 and 4 expansion, we are grateful for the leadership and foresight of the Georgia PSC, as well as the steadfast dedication of all project co-owners,” Greene said. “(On Wednesday) we welcomed business and community leaders, as well as elected officials and other guests from across Georgia, to celebrate the first newly built nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years, representing a long-term investment for the benefit of our clients and the State. “It is truly a great day for Georgia.”
Originally, the five-member Georgia Public Utilities Commission approved a $4.4 billion construction budget for Vogtle, but in 2017 state regulators and Georgia Power agreed that $7.3 billion would be considered a reasonable cost.
In December, the Public Service Commission approved the terms of a financial agreement that requires Georgia Power to cover at least $2.6 billion of the expected $10 billion in construction and capital costs. The terms were outlined in a stipulated agreement reached in August between Georgia Power, PSC advocacy staff, the Georgia Manufacturers Association and consumer advocacy and watchdog organizations Georgia Watch and Georgia Interfaith Power & Light and Partnership for Southern Equity .
As part of the deal, Georgia Power agreed to a roughly 50% expansion of energy efficiency programs and also offered up to 96,000 additional low-income seniors to participate in a program that would reduce their monthly bills by an average of $33.50.
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