The cooling towers of the up and running #1 and #2 reactors at Plant Vogtle next to the construction cranes erecting reactors #3 and #4 in April, 2017. / GPB

 Plant Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Still Alive

Georgia Power’s expansion of nuclear power at Plant Vogtle is still alive following a unanimous vote by the state’s Public Service Commission.

 

The decision came despite a letter from the PSC’s public interest advisory staff which said asking Georgia Power customers to pay more for the project wasn’t reasonable and despite a projected continuation of bottom basement prices for natural gas based electricity production. PSC member Tim Echols didn’t buy the natural gas argument.

​"If we stop this project and assume that gas prices will stay as low as they are now for 60-80 years, then we will have made a grave, irreversible mistake," said Echols.

As a concession to Georgia Power customers, the PSC cut Georgia Power’s rate of return on their investment in the project. For environmentalists? A 5 megawatt solar installation on the Plant Vogtle campus.

The first of the new reactors is expected to be online by 2021.

 

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