The continuing construction of two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle has been a hot topic of debate in Georgia over the past year. Detractors have called for a stop to the building following cost overruns due to the bankruptcy of chief contractor Westinghouse, while on the flip side vocal support has come from many of the state’s biggest names including a vote of confidence from the Public Service Commission.
Now support for the operation is coming all the way from the very top – the White House and the Department of Energy.
President Donald Trump with Energy Secretary Rick Perry
As first reported by E&E News, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced his plans to visit the construction site later this month during a department town hall meeting where he called the new units “a real benchmark for the U.S. (nuclear) industry that we have not seen in a while.” The DOE of course has a vested interest in the project, having given out some $3.4 billion in loan guarantees in late 2017 to help finance construction, and threatening to demand repayment on an accelerated timeline if the project was canceled.
Furthermore, under President Donald Trump the DOE has made nuclear energy a point of emphasis, and as Plant Vogtle’s units are the only new civilian nuclear facilities under construction in the nation, Perry is rooting for their success.
Advancing nuclear power, say DOE officials, is a means of maintaining “global leadership,”, even on the military side of the equation. Said Perry at the town hall; “From my perspective, one of the reasons we must maintain our leadership on the civilian nuclear side of things is so that this country can continue to be a leader in the nonproliferation area. Russia and China, I don’t see much messaging from them nor action from them towards nonproliferation.”
If the White House wants a healthy nuclear climate, it needs the Vogtle construction to succeed. Should the current plans stay on track, the first unit is scheduled to come online in 2021.
As Georgians have found out, building new nuclear units from scratch is exceedingly difficult. There is a reason that they are the first new units to be constructed in the country in three decades. But as the full-throated endorsement from Perry and the DOE shows, they are also exceedingly important. Questions of budgeting and scheduling still remain, but with support from the highest of sources expect construction at Plant Vogtle to carry on full steam ahead.
