The project to build two nuclear reactors for the Georgia-based Plant Vogtle, owned by Georgia Power and its partners, faces many challenges in being able to meet its current commercial operation dates of December 2017 and December 2018, according to a June 20 report by the Georgia Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Public Interest Advocacy Staff. PSC Analyst Steven Roetger and independent construction monitor William Jacobs attribute existing project delays to a number of factors, including late project design changes, late delivery of building components, and ineffective quality assurance efforts by project vendors.

Recently, two new vendors, Oregon Iron Works and SMCI, have been brought on to produce large parts for the project. Previously, the factory owned by Vogtle contractor Chicago Bridge & Iron in Lake Charles, Louisiana  has failed to produce structural modules for the plant on time and in accordance with applicable nuclear industry quality assurance rules.

According to the report, CB&I “was not prepared for the rigor of nuclear construction,” despite using a technique intended to make assembly faster and cheaper. The report warns that if “prior challenges experienced at the Lake Charles Facility are repeated, the project will experience additional delays.” According to testimony by consultant Philip Hayet, each additional delay would increase project costs by $2 million per day.  

Georgia Power Company, a subsidiary of Southern Company that owns a 45.7 percent stake in Plant Vogtle, recently estimated that it will need to spend $646 million more than its $6.1 billion budget on project construction costs.

High costs, construction delays, and technical problems have plagued the nuclear industry since its inception. The Vogtle project is on the same trajectory with multiple delays and technical problems. In February, the Department of Energy (DOE) finalized two new federally-backed loan guarantees for Vogtle, supporting the industry while saddling taxpayers with more than $6 billion in costly liabilities in case of project default. Taxpayers should not be forced to shoulder that kind of risk.