1st US nuclear reactor constructed from scratch in a long time enters business operation in Georgia

ATLANTA — A brand new reactor at a nuclear energy plant in Georgia has entered business operation, changing into the primary new American reactor constructed from scratch in a long time.

Georgia Energy 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 properties 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 Energy, the biggest 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 Fee 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 business operation by March.

The third and fourth reactors have been initially purported to value $14 billion, however at the moment are on monitor to value their homeowners $31 billion. That doesn’t embrace $3.7 billion that authentic contractor Westinghouse paid to the homeowners to stroll away from the mission. That brings whole spending to nearly $35 billion.

The third reactor was supposed to start out producing energy in 2016 when building started in 2009.

Vogtle is necessary 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 gasoline, coal and oil.

“This mission reveals simply how new nuclear can and can play a crucial position in reaching a clear power future for america,” Southern Co. CEO Chris Womack mentioned in a press release. “Bringing this unit safely into service is a credit score to the arduous work and dedication of our groups at Southern Firm and the hundreds of further staff who’ve helped construct that future at this website.”

In Georgia, nearly each electrical buyer pays for Vogtle. Georgia Energy presently owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Energy Corp., which gives electrical energy to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia and the town of Dalton. Oglethorpe and MEAG plan to promote energy to cooperatives and municipal utilities throughout Georgia, as nicely in Jacksonville, Florida, and components of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Georgia Energy’s 2.7 million prospects are already paying a part of the financing value and elected public service commissioners have authorised a month-to-month charge enhance of $3.78 a month for residential prospects as quickly because the third unit begins producing energy. That would hit payments in August, two months after residential prospects noticed a $16-a-month enhance to pay for larger gasoline prices.

Commissioners will determine later who pays for the rest of the prices of Vogtle, together with the fourth reactor.