Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 1 related project in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 1 related plant in PECWeb
Released September 08, 2016 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The construction of two new units at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia, is on schedule for a June 2019 in-service date for Unit 3 and June 2020 for Unit 4, according to a semi-annual construction monitoring report provided to the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) (Atlanta, Georgia). The units originally were scheduled to begin operating in 2016 (Unit 3) and 2017 (Unit 4).The total estimated construction and financing cost for the two new 1,117-megawatt (MW) units is about $17.2 billion, up $3.8 billion from the project's original estimated cost when it was certified. But the six-month period from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2016, did not include any cost overruns. The project incurred significant cost overruns years earlier.
Click this image for a view of the Unit 3 nuclear islands at the plant. Source: Georgia Power Company.
The unit additions at the Vogtle plant, and at the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station in South Carolina, are the first new-build nuclear power projects in the U.S. in three decades. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) recently finished construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear generator, a project that was partially completed for decades. For more on that, see July 12, 2016, article - Construction Complete, Watts Bar Unit 2 Conducts Power Ascension Tests.
Georgia Power Company (GPC) (Atlanta, Georgia), a unit of the Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia), is the operator and 45.7% owner of Vogtle units 3 and 4. Other owners include: Oglethorpe Power Corporation (Tucker, Georgia), which owns 30%; the Municipal Energy Agency of Georgia (MEAG Power) (Atlanta, Georgia), a 22.7% owner; and the City of Dalton, Georgia, which owns 1.6%.
The report, released August 31, said that despite current low natural gas prices, finishing Vogtle was an economically superior option compared with constructing new gas-fired combined-cycle generation. In nine net present value scenarios that assumed different gas prices and prices per ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), the utility said Vogtle units 3 and 4 would represent lifetime savings of between $32 million and $5.97 billion compared to a gas-fired combined-cycle generator. "The analysis demonstrates that completing the Facility remains the best cost option for our customers," the report said.
Georgia Power secured a $3.46 billion construction loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.) to support construction of Vogtle units 3 and 4. The utility has received about $2.5 billion of that loan guarantee, leaving about $960 in loan guarantees remaining, the utility told Georgia regulators.
In filing the report, Georgia Power asked the GPSC to verify and approve recovery of $141 million from customers to cover costs incurred during the first six months of 2016. In July, following submission of the 14th semi-annual construction progress report covering the second half of 2015, Georgia regulators allowed the utility to recover $160 million from customers to cover costs incurred between July 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. In an August 31 press release accompanying the 15th semi-annual report, Georgia Power noted the Georgia PSC has unanimously approved all costs submitted through the (voluntary construction monitoring) process to date.
Georgia Power noted these project milestones from the first half of 2016:
Although the Vogtle unit 3 and 4 additions are only 60% complete, according to a company spokesman, Georgia Power already has been scouting sites for another potential nuclear project. In July the utility was authorized to spend $99 million through mid-2019 studying a potential nuclear site in Stewart County, south of Columbus, Georgia. That sum also includes the cost to apply for a construction and operating license (COL), which will be filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Bethesda, Georgia). As yet, the potential plant in unnamed.
Regarding the commission's decision, a Georgia Power spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "We appreciate the commission's recognition of the importance of preserving new nuclear as an option."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
Click this image for a view of the Unit 3 nuclear islands at the plant. Source: Georgia Power Company.
The unit additions at the Vogtle plant, and at the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station in South Carolina, are the first new-build nuclear power projects in the U.S. in three decades. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) recently finished construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear generator, a project that was partially completed for decades. For more on that, see July 12, 2016, article - Construction Complete, Watts Bar Unit 2 Conducts Power Ascension Tests. Georgia Power Company (GPC) (Atlanta, Georgia), a unit of the Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia), is the operator and 45.7% owner of Vogtle units 3 and 4. Other owners include: Oglethorpe Power Corporation (Tucker, Georgia), which owns 30%; the Municipal Energy Agency of Georgia (MEAG Power) (Atlanta, Georgia), a 22.7% owner; and the City of Dalton, Georgia, which owns 1.6%.
The report, released August 31, said that despite current low natural gas prices, finishing Vogtle was an economically superior option compared with constructing new gas-fired combined-cycle generation. In nine net present value scenarios that assumed different gas prices and prices per ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), the utility said Vogtle units 3 and 4 would represent lifetime savings of between $32 million and $5.97 billion compared to a gas-fired combined-cycle generator. "The analysis demonstrates that completing the Facility remains the best cost option for our customers," the report said.
Georgia Power secured a $3.46 billion construction loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.) to support construction of Vogtle units 3 and 4. The utility has received about $2.5 billion of that loan guarantee, leaving about $960 in loan guarantees remaining, the utility told Georgia regulators.
In filing the report, Georgia Power asked the GPSC to verify and approve recovery of $141 million from customers to cover costs incurred during the first six months of 2016. In July, following submission of the 14th semi-annual construction progress report covering the second half of 2015, Georgia regulators allowed the utility to recover $160 million from customers to cover costs incurred between July 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. In an August 31 press release accompanying the 15th semi-annual report, Georgia Power noted the Georgia PSC has unanimously approved all costs submitted through the (voluntary construction monitoring) process to date.
Georgia Power noted these project milestones from the first half of 2016:
- 6.9 million work-hours of work was performed safely, with all construction activities meeting stringent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements
- Thousands of tons of modules were placed in Unit 3
- Contractors installed or placed over 1,480 tons of rebar, over 2,451 tons of structural steel and over 10,845 cubic yards of concrete in the nuclear islands, turbine islands and annex building alone
- Two huge modules, CA02 and CA03, were safely placed in the nuclear island for Unit 3. CA02 weighed 52 tons and CA03 weighed 237 tons. The modules are critical components and part of the In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST).
- All modifications were completed to Unit 1's 230-kilovolt (kV) switchyard that are necessary to connect units 3 and 4 to the transmission grid without interrupting power delivery from the operational units
- Georgia Power transitioned Westinghouse Nuclear Services (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and its affiliates as the primary contractor, which has enhanced communication. A few years back Georgia Power replaced some of the project's previous contractors, including Chicago Bridge & Iron NV (NYSE:CBI) (The Hague, Netherlands), alleging they were the cause of most of the project delays and cost overruns.
Although the Vogtle unit 3 and 4 additions are only 60% complete, according to a company spokesman, Georgia Power already has been scouting sites for another potential nuclear project. In July the utility was authorized to spend $99 million through mid-2019 studying a potential nuclear site in Stewart County, south of Columbus, Georgia. That sum also includes the cost to apply for a construction and operating license (COL), which will be filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Bethesda, Georgia). As yet, the potential plant in unnamed.
Regarding the commission's decision, a Georgia Power spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "We appreciate the commission's recognition of the importance of preserving new nuclear as an option."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
