The Post-Partisan Emporium

 The previous post! The AP 1000 Vogtle Unit 3 reactor in Georgia, 16 years in the making, became officially operational this week after several technical setbacks earlier this year had caused it to start up and power down again. The moment of commercial operation has been heralded in headlines and by the nuclear industry as a “milestone” but the   Financial Times   predicts that while Vogtle 3 may be the “first new US nuclear reactor in three decades” it also “may be its last”. The reactor came in seven years later than originally predicted and vastly over-budget. A second reactor, Vogtle 4, is expected to start commercial operation in 2024, but the total price tag for the two reactors is currently predicted to be $35 billion and could well climb higher. But, as the   Atlanta Journal-Constitution   reported, “Georgia Power ratepayers have already been paying for the two units in their monthly bills for years.” And, added the article, “Now that Unit 3 is complete...

Vogtle 3 begins   commercial operation   The USA's first newly constructed nuclear power plant in more than 30 years is now serving customers - it reached first criticality in March, was connected to the electricity grid in April and is now officially generating electricity for customers, Georgia Power has announced. Vogtle: unit 3 is now supplying electricity to customers, and unit 4 (seen in the background) is set to join it soon (Image: Georgia Power) Georgia Power Chairman, President and CEO Kim Greene said the achievement was a "testament" to the company's commitment to building a reliable and resilient energy future and "marks the first day of the next 60 to 80 years that Vogtle Unit 3 will serve our customers with clean, reliable energy". Work started on two Westinghouse AP1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR) units at the Vogtle site, near Waynesboro, in 2013. Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power, both subsidiaries of Southern Company, took over managem...