Nuclear advocates celebrate Vogtle completion, look to next US reactor build

As Georgia Power Co., local and national leaders and nuclear advocates celebrate completion of the two-unit Vogtle Nuclear Plant expansion that began nearly two decades ago, supporters of the project called for more nuclear capacity in the US while critics urged other states not to follow Georgia's example.

"Years of persistence got us to this moment," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a May 31 ceremony at the plant in Burke County, Ga. "The road hasn't been easy ... but the good times and the hard times are a down payment on 80 years of 24/7 clean power."

Vogtle unit 3 entered commercial operation in July 2023 and unit 4 entered commercial operation in April 2024. The expansion is estimated to have cost more than double initial projections of about $14 billion. Now, Vogtle stands as the largest generator of carbon-free energy in the country, advocates said.

"Vogtle 3 and 4 don't just represent an incredible economic development asset for our state and ... a milestone for the entire country," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said at a May 29 ceremony at the plant. "They also stand as physical examples of something I remind myself of every day: Tough times don't last. Tough people do.

"The men and women here before me are tough people ... and they survived the hard times that got in the way of making today possible."

Next nuclear build

While supporters of the project acknowledged Vogtle's delays and cost overruns, they also shared hopes for further nuclear expansion. To meet net-zero emissions goals by 2050, Granholm said the US must at least triple its current nuclear capacity, adding 200 more gigawatts.

"We are determined to build a world-class nuclear industry in the United States and we're putting our money where our mouth is," Granholm said of federal incentives for nuclear. "Let's draw up some more battle plans for some more reactors."

"Today, we celebrate the end of that project. Now let's start planning Vogtle 5," Kemp said May 29.

Chris Womack, the chairman, president and CEO of Vogtle parent company Southern Co., said May 2 that Southern does not have additional nuclear in its immediate plans.

"We paid the learning curve for all of America," Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols said. "With both units now running at full song and cost issues settled, most critique is moot. For me to vote to build another unit, however, it will require a federal backstop against overruns."

'Cautionary tale'

Total cost estimates for the Vogtle additions are difficult to determine, given variables such as financing costs across the multiple owners and $3.7 billion provided due to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, the original builder. Some estimates top $30 billion, and testimony at Georgia PSC hearings in December 2023 included estimates of $32 billion to $35 billion or higher.

As nuclear advocates celebrated, a group of Vogtle critics published a report May 30 aiming to discourage other states, regulatory bodies and utilities from pursuing new nuclear generation, outlining delays, cost overruns and ratepayer costs.

Authors and contributors of the report, "Plant Vogtle: The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States," included Georgia PSC Democratic candidate Patty Durand, as well as leaders of anti-nuclear nonprofit Georgia WAND, anti-nuclear group Nuclear Watch South, Georgia Conservation Voters, Concerned Ratepayers of Georgia and the Center for a Sustainable Coast.

The report seeks to "warn officials in other states not to believe claims that nuclear energy is cost-competitive, required for clean energy or necessary to meet large growth projections."

"Vogtle is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country," Brionté McCorkle, executive director of environmental nonprofit Georgia Conservation Voters, said in a statement. "Imagine all of the renewable power, battery storage and energy-efficiency investments we could have made in the time it took to build the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle at a fraction of the cost."

The Georgia PSC said it does not comment on reports that "have not been peer-reviewed."

The PSC approved a settlement agreement between Georgia Power, commission staff, and environmental and consumer advocates in December 2023 that would cost ratepayers $7.56 billion.

"We understand the impact the cost to build these new units has on customers and, from the beginning, we have worked to minimize costs for customers from this critical new energy asset through proactive steps such as the fixed price contract, collecting financing costs during construction and pursuing DOE loan guarantees," Georgia Power spokesperson John Kraft told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The original two units at Vogtle began operating in the late 1980s and have nameplate capacities of 1,215 MW each. Georgia Power owns the largest share of the original two reactors at Vogtle, as well as the new ones, at 45.7%. Other owners are Oglethorpe Power Corp., which supplies power to Georgia electric cooperatives, at about 30%; the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, which supplies power to 49 public power entities in Georgia, at 22.7%; and the city of Dalton, Ga., at 1.6%. Southern Nuclear Operating Co. Inc. operates the new units on behalf of the co-owners.