V.C. Summer
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Legal & Regulatory
Toshiba Agrees to $3.68 Billion Deal to Aid Vogtle Nuclear Construction
A nuclear plant construction project in Georgia that is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget has been given a lifeline that at least temporarily eases concerns about its future. Toshiba, the parent company of Westinghouse, and Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, majority owner of Plant Vogtle near Augusta, on June 9 reached […]
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Nuclear
Chinese Reactor Is Ahead of Schedule as U.S. Nuclear Projects Flounder
China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) completed the dome lift at Fuqing Unit 5—the world’s first power plant being constructed utilizing the HPR 1000 (also known as the Hualong One) reactor design—15 days ahead of schedule on May 25. The feat was no small accomplishment. The dome weighs about 340 metric tons and has a diameter […]
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Nuclear
EIA Predicts Nuclear Share of U.S. Generation to Fall Nearly 10% by 2050
In 2016, nuclear power accounted for about 20% of U.S. power generation, but that share is expected to fall to just 11% in 2050, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) 2017 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2017). According to the EIA, 25% of the nation’s nuclear capacity, excluding plants that have already announced retirement, is […]
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Nuclear
Vogtle, V.C. Summer Project Owners Buy More Time to Mull Fate of Nuclear Units
The owners of the Vogtle and V.C. Summer nuclear expansions separately secured a few more weeks to allow work to continue onsite at each project while they decide how to proceed with the half-built AP1000 reactors after Westinghouse’s financial debacle. In Georgia, owners of the project to expand Plant Vogtle extended an interim assessment agreement […]
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Commentary
Can the U.S. Nuclear Power Industry Survive?
The recent announcement by Westinghouse Electric Co. that it had filed for bankruptcy sent a shockwave through the nuclear power industry. It wasn’t a secret that the company was struggling financially as a
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Nuclear
How Westinghouse, Symbol of U.S. Nuclear Power, Collapsed
Crippled by financial setbacks stemming from the half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina, Westinghouse Electric Co., a company with a storied legacy symbolic of American nuclear power, has taken the desperate step of filing for bankruptcy protection. While owners of the two nuclear construction projects are monitoring the situation, the development could […]
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Nuclear
New Construction Milestones for AP1000 Units
Construction of four AP1000 units—the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in decades—is moving along at Vogtle 3 and 4 in Georgia and at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina. In January, Westinghouse, which is spearheading construction of the units, marked a key milestone as it placed the first steam generator […]
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Nuclear
V.C. Summer Unit 2 Reactor Vessel in Place
Westinghouse, the lead supplier for the V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion project in South Carolina, said on August 30 that it had successfully placed the reactor vessel for the new Unit 2. The 278-metric-ton vessel was rigged into place by one of the largest construction cranes in the world, a heavy lift derrick with a […]
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Press Releases
Westinghouse Advanced Safety Systems Established with Latest Module Placements at V.C. Summer
JENKINSVILLE, S.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–This week Westinghouse Electric Company completed the placement of two modules that are part of the innovative safety systems of the AP1000® Unit 2 currently under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. The AP1000 plant safety systems rely on the laws of nature including gravity, natural circulation and condensation. The plant design […]
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Nuclear
U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Closures [Slideshow]
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power has accounted for about 20% of electricity generated in the U.S. each year since 1990. In fact, the U.S. nuclear fleet out produced France—the country with the next highest nuclear generation—by more than two to one in 2012. Russia was a distant third, generating less than […]
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Nuclear
85% of Major Equipment Delivered to V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Plant Construction Site
According to Steve Byrne, COO of South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G), 85% of the major equipment necessary to build V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 is onsite, and of the remaining components, a lot of them are physically constructed waiting to be transported or are already loaded on ships headed to South Carolina. […]
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Nuclear
CB&I Out, Fluor In at Vogtle and V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Plant Construction Projects
There has been a major shake up in the contractors involved in both of the new AP1000 nuclear power plant projects under construction in the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, a group company of Toshiba Corp., announced on Oct. 27 that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire CB&I Stone & Webster Inc., the nuclear […]
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Nuclear
Costs and Deadlines Continue to Challenge V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant Project
With all 40 remaining construction milestones for V.C. Summer Nuclear Station Units 2 and 3 behind schedule (33 by more than 18 months) as of June 30, South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) awaits approval of the petition it filed with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (SCPSC) to update its construction and […]
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Nuclear
V.C. Summer Nuclear Expansion Costs to Surge by Nearly $1B
Delays and other contested costs are expected to push the price for two new units being constructed at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station up by $980 million, a petition freshly filed by South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (SCPSC) shows. SCE&G made the filing to […]
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Nuclear
Construction Delayed at V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant
Steve Byrne, chief operating officer for South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), provided an update on the company’s new nuclear construction project at the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station during a conference call held on Aug. 11. On the call, Byrne disclosed that the construction consortium informed SCE&G this month that the substantial […]
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Nuclear
Report Compares and Contrasts Owners of New Nuclear Plants
A report released this week by Moody’s Investors Service provides an interesting analysis of two companies knee-deep in nuclear plant construction projects. The peer comparison takes a look at Georgia Power Co.—a Southern Co. subsidiary—and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G)—a SCANA Corp. subsidiary. Georgia Power is adding two new units to its Alvin […]