Commission votes to continue Plant Vogtle's nuclear reactor projects - Sensationalist Headlines

[QUOTE]ATLANTA - The state agency that regulates utilities has decided Thursday to continue two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. The project had been plagued by delays and escalating costs for years. Georgia Power estimates the reactors will cost $12.2 billion and won't be finished until 2021 and 2022. "That allows us to keep going with the project, but get claw back," said Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols. The new reactors on the Savannah River near Waynesboro were initially expected to cost the company about $6 billion and be completed this year. The state Public Service Commission decided that the reactors are still a good deal for ratepayers, who bear much of the cost. The PSC's analysts say it's not, arguing the project's current price tag is $3.9 billion more than what they consider reasonable. A vote by the PSC on whether to move forward was expected in February. But PSC Chairman Stan Wise told The Augusta Chronicle the commission plans to vote Dec. 21. Wise said Georgia Power wants a decision now so that, if the project gets canceled, the company could take advantage of tax laws that Congress plans to change next year. ... PSC staff members have said problems with the Plant Vogtle expansion began early with Westinghouse, manufacturer of the AP1000 reactors being installed at Vogtle. They say the reactors' design wasn't far enough along when the project began in 2009.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/commission-voting-on-georgia-powers-plant-vogtles-future/667115708[/url]

Good. The US needs to keep working towards upgrading its aging nuclear power infrastructure. The faster we can get Gen III plants online the better.

[QUOTE=papkee;53011234]Good. The US needs to keep working towards upgrading its aging nuclear power infrastructure. The faster we can get Gen III plants online the better.[/QUOTE] And then in turn start phasing coal power out.

Now if only the federal government would stop dragging its feet on letting MOX get done at the Savannah River Site (on purpose, as the DOE is basically trying to kill the program to use its funding for nuclear weapons), then we could finally move closer towards getting reprocessing approved in the US. (MOX isn't reprocessing despite being based on French MOX fuel cycle facilities, but is using the same method to take partially-decommissioned weapons material and turn it into reactor fuel.)

When can we expect to see breeder reactors that run off of depleted uranium in use?

[QUOTE=ultra_bright;53012338]When can we expect to see breeder reactors that run off of depleted uranium in use?[/QUOTE] Likely not until we have some people who aren't uninformed on nuclear science and the risks/costs involved, and who aren't radically anti-nuclear, in charge of the DOE and in elected positions in this country. Nonetheless, we don't necessarily need breeder designs to go more nuclear in terms of grid power, but we do need to build out a bit more and replace our old, existing reactors with new-build Gen III and Gen IV designs.

[QUOTE=ultra_bright;53012338]When can we expect to see breeder reactors that run off of depleted uranium in use?[/QUOTE] Probably not going to appear in the US first. The French are working on designing liquid sodium fast neutron reactors and it seems to be set to be operational in a couple of decades. [editline]29th December 2017[/editline] Kinda worried about security concerns though, considering sodium explodes when in contact with water.