A second new nuclear reactor is completed in Georgia. The carbon-free power comes at a high price
The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation
ATLANTA — The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation, capping a project that cost billions more and took years longer than originally projected.
Georgia Power Co. and fellow owners announced the milestone Monday for Plant Vogtle's Unit 4, which joins an earlier new reactor southeast of Augusta in splitting atoms to make carbon-free electricity.
Unit 3 began commercial operation last summer, joining two older reactors that have stood on the site for decades. They're the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades.
The new Vogtle reactors are currently projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press. Add in $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid Vogtle owners to walk away from construction, and the total nears $35 billion.
Electric customers in Georgia already have paid billions for what may be the most expensive power plant ever. The reactors were originally projected to cost $14 billion and be completed by 2017.
Utilities and their political supporters on Monday hailed the plant's completion. Georgia Gov Brian Kemp proclaimed he was “thankful for this historic achievement by Georgia Power and its partners.” Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power, argues Vogtle will make the state's electrical grid more reliable and resilient and help the utility meet its goal of zeroing out carbon emissions by 2050.
“These new Vogtle units not only will support the economy within our communities now and in the future, they demonstrate our global nuclear leadership,” Womack
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