DOE Lends Support For Nuclear Power

The Department of Energy has moved ahead on its plan to provide federal loan guarantees to support construction of two nuclear reactors at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, Ga. Several utilities, including Southern Co., were provided with $6.5 billion in loan guarantees for two 1,100-MW nuclear reactors under construction at the site. If they advance, the two would be the first new reactors to be built in the U.S. in three decades. In all, DOE has set aside $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for the project, which is expected to eventually cost some $14 billion and take until 2018 or later to complete. The reactors use a new “passive” safety design that requires little human interaction to return a reactor to a safe state after an accident. Because of cost, construction time, and public opposition, construction funding has been difficult for nuclear power companies to obtain. And now with the flood of natural gas available for electricity generation, Vogtle will be a major test for a new generation of nuclear power plants.