By JEFF AMY (Associated Press)
ATLANTA (AP) — A brand new reactor at a nuclear energy plant in Georgia has entered industrial operation, turning into the primary new American reactor constructed from scratch in many years.
Georgia Power Co. introduced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has accomplished testing and is now sending energy to the grid reliably.
At its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electrical energy, Unit 3 can energy 500,000 houses and companies. Utilities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama are receiving the electrical energy.
Nuclear energy now makes up about 25% of the era of Georgia Power, the most important unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co.
A fourth reactor can be nearing completion on the website, the place two earlier reactors have been producing electrical energy for many years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday mentioned radioactive gasoline could possibly be loaded into Unit 4, a step anticipated to happen earlier than the tip of September. Unit 4 is scheduled to enter industrial operation by March.
The third and fourth reactors have been initially presupposed to value $14 billion, however at the moment are on monitor to value their house owners $31 billion. That doesn’t embody $3.7 billion that unique contractor Westinghouse paid to the house owners to stroll away from the mission. That brings complete spending to virtually $35 billion.
The third reactor was supposed to begin producing energy in 2016 when building started in 2009.
Vogtle is vital as a result of authorities officers and a few utilities are once more trying to nuclear energy to alleviate local weather change by producing electrical energy with out burning pure fuel, coal and oil.
“This project shows just how new nuclear can and will play a critical role in achieving a clean energy future for the United States,” Southern Co. CEO Chris Womack mentioned in an announcement. “Bringing this unit safely into service is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our teams at Southern Company and the thousands of additional workers who have helped build that future at this site.”
In Georgia, virtually each electrical buyer pays for Vogtle. Georgia Power at present owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which gives electrical energy to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and town of Dalton. Oglethorpe and MEAG plan to promote energy to cooperatives and municipal utilities throughout Georgia, as properly in Jacksonville, Florida, and components of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Georgia Power’s 2.7 million clients are already paying a part of the financing value and elected public service commissioners have authorised a month-to-month charge improve of $3.78 a month for residential clients as quickly because the third unit begins producing energy. That might hit payments in August, two months after residential clients noticed a $16-a-month improve to pay for larger gasoline prices.
Commissioners will resolve later who pays for the rest of the prices of Vogtle, together with the fourth reactor.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”