Supporters of Burke County’s Plant Vogtle got more good news Monday as two of its main owners voted in favor of continuing construction, even in the face of rising costs.
Georgia Power has been the primary face of the construction process, but in reality the utility company is just a co-owner with 45.7% of the nuclear plant. Oglethorpe Power Corp. owns 30%, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) 22.7%, and Dalton Utilities the remaining 1.6%. Because of a recent $2.2 billion cost increase (that Georgia Power has pledged will not be paid by customers) an automatic vote was triggered, forcing the other two major shareholders in the project to decide whether to keep moving forward with the construction.
Despite urging from Governor Nathan Deal and members of the Public Service Commission, an affirmative vote was not a sure thing. One of MEAG’s clients, Jacksonville-based utility JEA, has desperately tried to get out of its contract to purchase energy from Vogtle once it is finished, eventually leading to a series of lawsuits that are still being resolved.
However pressure from state officials as well as the Department of Energy, which threatened to demand billions in loans be repaid within five years should construction be stopped, was enough to get MEAG and Oglethorpe on board as both companies agreed to continue with the construction of the first nuclear units to be built in the U.S. in 30 years.
Said John Snead, head of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office in a letter sent to the utilities, “The decision each owner makes should be made with an understanding of the ripple effect this project is already having, including job creation and the positive signal of the continued value and viability of commercial nuclear power in our country.”
The boards of MEAG and Oglethorpe both voted unanimously in favor of continuing construction, standing firm alongside Georgia Power in their belief that the project is back on track following the bankruptcy of lead contractor Westinghouse last year.
Oglethorpe’s approval came with a caveat – that a cap be put on future costs, with anything over that limit to be paid by Georgia Power. That cap is nearly $1 billion higher than the latest projections for total construction costs.
The decisions are a big win for Vogtle proponents, who have continued to point to nuclear energy as a way to diversify the state’s energy production, and to do it in a way that is sustainable and environmentally friendly to boot.
Construction itself has been a major boon for the Augusta area, with more than 3,500 workers currently employed. Nearly 1,000 workers will be needed to staff the two new nuclear units once they are operational.
