First new US nuclear reactor in decades enters commercial operation in Georgia(apnews.com)
apnews.com
First new US nuclear reactor in decades enters commercial operation in Georgia
https://apnews.com/article/georgia-power-nuclear-reactor-vogtle-9555e3f9169f2d58161056feaa81a425
357 コメント
One project in 30 years doesn't benefit from economies of scale. Nuclear is the only hope we have to make up for the gaps in generation for solar and wind. Solar and Wind should be used whenever possible, but they are not 100% of our solution mix, even if they are the majority.
If we want to mitigate the impact of climate change, we need to invest in decreasing Nuclear costs and building many more plants in the US.
If we want to mitigate the impact of climate change, we need to invest in decreasing Nuclear costs and building many more plants in the US.
“seven years late and $17 billion over budget. At its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electricity”
Ignoring interest for those 7 years and all other costs just the overage is insane. 17 billion / ( 1,100,000 kW * 90% capacity factor * 24 hour * 365 days * 50 years) = 4 cents per kWh. Add interest etc and someone lost an incredible amount of money on this project.
Ignoring interest for those 7 years and all other costs just the overage is insane. 17 billion / ( 1,100,000 kW * 90% capacity factor * 24 hour * 365 days * 50 years) = 4 cents per kWh. Add interest etc and someone lost an incredible amount of money on this project.
Awesome! Nuclear is a fantastic and needed addition to the grid. The cost was high, but still quite cheap relative to the cost of continuing to build & run fossil fuel plants. It's a real shame we let 30+ years slip by, letting our ability to build projects like this wither. I hope there's lessons learned from this experience that will help get costs down for future plants. This should spur discussions on streamlining the regulatory side of things, and there's a lot of exciting stuff going on in modular reactors.
(In case it needs saying, which it shouldn't: yes, we should be building out wind & solar, too! We need all hands on deck, wind, solar, and nuclear, right now, to kill coal. We already blew our chance to do it cheaply, so now we have to pay the price.)
(In case it needs saying, which it shouldn't: yes, we should be building out wind & solar, too! We need all hands on deck, wind, solar, and nuclear, right now, to kill coal. We already blew our chance to do it cheaply, so now we have to pay the price.)
About time!
> "This hadn’t been done in this country from start to finish in some 30-plus years," Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said Monday in a telephone interview.
IIRC, scientists are working on Gen 4 reactors, and there are a number of Gen 3 reactors operating in commercial capacities around the world; but the US is still stuck on Gen 2 due to regulation.
> "This hadn’t been done in this country from start to finish in some 30-plus years," Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said Monday in a telephone interview.
IIRC, scientists are working on Gen 4 reactors, and there are a number of Gen 3 reactors operating in commercial capacities around the world; but the US is still stuck on Gen 2 due to regulation.
This project is what killed nuclear in the US. Not regulations, not the NRC, just plain old incompetence, bad planning, bad EPC, bad design.
The AP1000 was supposed to be a "modular" design, where most of the difficult welding could be done off site and delivered complete, with paperwork. And failure in this modularity is what caused the project to be such a flop, and essentially kill all new large nuclear in the US (people are trying "small" modular, but their target costs are still far too high to be economically feasible).
See, for example, this 2017 report on just one aspect of what went wrong:
https://www.enr.com/articles/43325-witness-to-the-origins-of...
> To build the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in three decades—South Carolina’s V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 and Georgia’s Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4—the design and construction team would face a steep learning curve. However, says Hartz, learning wasn’t much of a priority in the rush to start work at Lake Charles. “They were clueless” about the complex geometry of nuclear welds, the nuclear supply chain and the need for a nuclear safety culture, he notes, adding, “I wasn’t a whistle-blower. I was just a senior procurement manager who was concerned.”
> Westinghouse would issue drawings to Shaw Nuclear in Charlotte. When Shaw reviewed the drawings and asked Westinghouse to correct a detail, problems ensued. The work processes were unnecessarily complicated by the separation of the team members. Giving an example of how the process got out of hand, Hartz says that, if a design called for a 3⁄8-in.-wide, 12-in.-long fillet weld, the welder might make it 14 in. long. “Instead of having Westinghouse right there saying, ‘That’s no problem,’ ” recalls Hartz, “we had to write a nonconformance report that was processed and reviewed by Shaw and then sent to Westinghouse for disposition. It was insane. From Lake Charles to Pittsburgh to Charlotte then back to Shaw Modular before the red nonconformance tag could be taken off, saying it’s OK now.” He adds, “Each change went through the same tortuous path, taking months and months.”
The AP1000 was supposed to be a "modular" design, where most of the difficult welding could be done off site and delivered complete, with paperwork. And failure in this modularity is what caused the project to be such a flop, and essentially kill all new large nuclear in the US (people are trying "small" modular, but their target costs are still far too high to be economically feasible).
See, for example, this 2017 report on just one aspect of what went wrong:
https://www.enr.com/articles/43325-witness-to-the-origins-of...
> To build the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in three decades—South Carolina’s V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 and Georgia’s Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4—the design and construction team would face a steep learning curve. However, says Hartz, learning wasn’t much of a priority in the rush to start work at Lake Charles. “They were clueless” about the complex geometry of nuclear welds, the nuclear supply chain and the need for a nuclear safety culture, he notes, adding, “I wasn’t a whistle-blower. I was just a senior procurement manager who was concerned.”
> Westinghouse would issue drawings to Shaw Nuclear in Charlotte. When Shaw reviewed the drawings and asked Westinghouse to correct a detail, problems ensued. The work processes were unnecessarily complicated by the separation of the team members. Giving an example of how the process got out of hand, Hartz says that, if a design called for a 3⁄8-in.-wide, 12-in.-long fillet weld, the welder might make it 14 in. long. “Instead of having Westinghouse right there saying, ‘That’s no problem,’ ” recalls Hartz, “we had to write a nonconformance report that was processed and reviewed by Shaw and then sent to Westinghouse for disposition. It was insane. From Lake Charles to Pittsburgh to Charlotte then back to Shaw Modular before the red nonconformance tag could be taken off, saying it’s OK now.” He adds, “Each change went through the same tortuous path, taking months and months.”
That reactor could last until 2100.
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/whats-lifespan-nuclear-re...
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/whats-lifespan-nuclear-re...
I live in Georgia, and the only thing this plant will do is raise our rates.
It's late (of course) and HUGELY over budget (also of course). The planners always knew it would be way late and way over budget. None of that mattered, because the 'regulatory' system guarantees they get it all back (and more) from the rate payers.
It was also painfully obvious WHEN THIS WAS PLANNED that building Solar and/or Wind would get done sooner and far less expensively.
It's late (of course) and HUGELY over budget (also of course). The planners always knew it would be way late and way over budget. None of that mattered, because the 'regulatory' system guarantees they get it all back (and more) from the rate payers.
It was also painfully obvious WHEN THIS WAS PLANNED that building Solar and/or Wind would get done sooner and far less expensively.
So to power every home in the USA would roughly cost 3 trillion at these prices. if they reused the same teams and designs maybe they could get it somewhat cheaper. plus we have increasing renewable plus existing hydro and nuclear. for the price of a year or two of national debt we could go full renewable in this country.
> seven years late and $17 billion over budget.
When does this become a national security issue? Zoinks!
When does this become a national security issue? Zoinks!
Good. More, please.
What this article is missing is that if you don’t consider refueling, defouling, valve refitting, coolant issues, cooling tower furloughs, transmission plant failures, early retirement, funding issues, staffing issues, or pressure vessel refurbishment the uptime is 100%! Beat that, renewables.
> ...seven years late and $17 billion over budget...
And how much of that was a result of red tape from the NRC, DOE, and EPA?
And how much of that was a result of red tape from the NRC, DOE, and EPA?
My 2c:
Why nuclear power is a dumb idea.
Countries with nuclear reactors: 32.
Countries which have had nuclear leaks or meltdowns: 15.
Number of nuclear leaks and meltdowns since 1952 (only those which resulted in loss of human life or >US$50K property damage): ~100.
About 60% of those have been in the USA, allegedly the most advanced country in the world with the bestest regulation of such things.
Note that the USA requirements for nuclear reactor waste (yes, they produce toxic waste; they are not clean), last time I checked, required the canisters to be able to survive for 300 years. The waste lasts longer than 300 years. So all you can do with the waste, at best, is leave it for someone else to handle later.
Two years ago the USA had a leak which spilled ~400,000 gallons of radioactive water into a major river system, and it was covered up for two years. You can not trust governments or nuclear power companies about this stuff.
The entire ecosystem is getting poisoned by all that waste water Japan is dumping. Almost 50% of countries with nuclear reactors have had significant leaks and meltdowns, and it only takes one significant event to screw up the entire natural environment.
Finally: If you are not willing to have a nuclear reactor right beside your house, but are willing to have one beside someone else's house, you are a coward and are not really in favour of nuclear power.
Why nuclear power is a dumb idea.
Countries with nuclear reactors: 32.
Countries which have had nuclear leaks or meltdowns: 15.
Number of nuclear leaks and meltdowns since 1952 (only those which resulted in loss of human life or >US$50K property damage): ~100.
About 60% of those have been in the USA, allegedly the most advanced country in the world with the bestest regulation of such things.
Note that the USA requirements for nuclear reactor waste (yes, they produce toxic waste; they are not clean), last time I checked, required the canisters to be able to survive for 300 years. The waste lasts longer than 300 years. So all you can do with the waste, at best, is leave it for someone else to handle later.
Two years ago the USA had a leak which spilled ~400,000 gallons of radioactive water into a major river system, and it was covered up for two years. You can not trust governments or nuclear power companies about this stuff.
The entire ecosystem is getting poisoned by all that waste water Japan is dumping. Almost 50% of countries with nuclear reactors have had significant leaks and meltdowns, and it only takes one significant event to screw up the entire natural environment.
Finally: If you are not willing to have a nuclear reactor right beside your house, but are willing to have one beside someone else's house, you are a coward and are not really in favour of nuclear power.
Plant Vogtle was approved by the Atomic Energy Commission (the predecessor to the NRC). Their license was grandfathered in. Building this reactor required a new reactor license (not plant license). Shortly after the reactor design was approved and construction started, the federal government added new rules about containment vessels being resilient to passenger aircraft impact. The NRC applied these rules retroactively, causing the containment vessel to be redesigned and construction to be halted.[1] The companies working with the NRC are reluctant to criticize regulators, as they fear retaliation from the NRC. The NRC supervises and approves each step of nuclear reactor construction, making it very difficult to schedule work with contractors and suppliers. Honestly, it's amazing this plant was built at all.
1. https://www.ans.org/news/article-1646/root-cause-of-vogtle-a...