Why the Future of Nuclear Power Depends on This Plant

The initial criticality at Vogtle 3 marks the first time a truly new nuclear plant has come online in the US in 30 years. However, the project was not without its challenges. What does this mean for the future of the US nuclear industry?

This video talks about a significant milestone achieved in the US nuclear industry. On March 6th, 2023, the Vogtle Unit 3 reactor achieved nuclear criticality for the first time, marking the first new nuclear plant startup in the US in 30 years. While this achievement is noteworthy, the Vogtle project has faced several challenges, including cost overruns and construction delays, which are all-too-familiar in the nuclear industry. Join me as we explore what Vogtle's successful startup means for the future of nuclear energy in the US.

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Chapters
0:00 A Rare Achievement
1:15 Initial Criticality
2:29 Building Vogtle
6:18 The Future of the US Nuclear Industry
8:27 What Can be Done

[richardrose]

It sounds to me that there was a gross overreaction to the Fukushima disaster. The main problem there was due to it's location near the ocean. How does that apply to a plant a hundred or more miles from the ocean?

[jvsmith]

Good job on the video. Actually finishing the Vogtle project was a big surprise to me. I worked on the project back in 2007 when we were doing the site permit. The certified design seemed to me would be very difficult to construct. It is good that they were able to finish it.

The AP-1000 is the first nuclear plant in the US to use an open refueling water tank built into the containment. The old Westinghouse reactors had that tank outside containment. So it will be interesting to see how operations go with high containment humidity. (Have you ever been inside a GE Mark I taurus?)

Another good thing is that this is a large base load plant. It is exactly what is needed in the USA. I know everyone is excited about the SMRs (I worked on those designs too), but the economy of an SMR is just not going to work I don't think. All of the licensing, safety requirements, site requirements, security, staffing and NRC oversight is still built into the price of each nuclear facility. No matter how small you make it.

[GreyDeathVaccine]

I'm Polish.
The governments in my country have wasted 15 years wondering if and where to build, so even delays in construction are not scary for me, as long as they finally start building :D

[nukeworker]

I work for Vogtle 3&4 full time as an electrical maintenance supervisor. I can tell you that everyone who has worked there put blood sweat and tears into that plant. However with all the regulatory requirements it put a big burden on the construction side of things moreover the skill of the craft through out the years dwindled. Poor craftsman's ship was a big part as well. ALOT of work was redone from either poor craftsmanship, Poor equipment reliability, upgrades, mods etc... with it taking years to build and equipment that was installed early on, alot of those pieces of equipment needed to be replaced from becoming faulty rather from outside elements or the continued construction with people in general not watching what they are doing and breaking certain components unintentionally. ALOT of testing was performed on each equipment multiple times through various upgrades or mods that was an after thought. Also when covid came around that place became a ghost town for about a year. With this plant being fully digital, the amount of testing to ensure that every piece of equipment was "talking" to each other was a painful process as well. So to summarize Equipment reliability from factory down to craft testing was a big part. Craftmanship and pride in work was another. Regulatory requirements was another big one. Overall thousands of people who have came and gone for the most part gave their all. WE at Vogtle are proud of were we are at now with running unit 3 at 100% power and commercially operating and will continue to keep our PUBLIC safe as the number one priority and ENSURE we have equipment reliability so we can give the public safe and clean power for years to come!

[arxaaron]

As a long time Georgia Power customer, Vogtle 3 & 4 going on line means I (and the world) might finally see some very delayed return on years of forced investments in their construction and cost overruns. As an steadfast advocate of Green Nuclear as a key part of the path to sustainability, this video was helpful in understanding and perhaps forgiving many of the reasons for those delays that I didn't fully understand. I remain hopeful that scaleable LFTR development and regulatory support will speed the realization of a new era of Green Nuclear energy that will avoid the problems of traditional large scale reactors. Your video is most appreciated!

[StephenNewman-jr]

Good for them. Units 3 and 4 will provide 24/7 reliable power for up to 80 years. Plus the online capacity factor over the last decade for all U.S. Nuclear plants is on the order of 90-93%. We learned from this project.

[ltmcolen]

Some Belgian politicians use the US as an argument to extend the life time of our younger reactors.
It would be far cheaper than building new ones thats for sure.
But these spiraling costs aren't particularly inherent to nuclear reactors,
many mega projects like roads, tunnels and bridges suffer from the same problems.

[gertvisserveessen]

And Germany carelessly and with great ease closed more than 10 modern and well-functioning nuclear power plants recently. A capital destruction of hundreds of billions of dollars. And that is also reflected in the electricity bill, German energy prices are the highest in Europe.

[Blindman]

so i just found your channel, my guy how in the hell do you not have more viewers and subscribers?!? Incredible videos both in video/audio quality and also the content of the videos.

[jake]

They need to have a standardized production where all plants are based on an almost identical design. That would reduce cost substantially.

[MEAKapc]

You should have mentioned how the South Carolina plant project murdered Toshiba

(Edit: actually a whole movie could be written about the mess at the SC site. It went through several contractors and way over budget. But the price of innovation was paid the ap1000 lives in Georgia)

[bigjay]

Would like to see real working model of a molten salt reactor built in the US. There's a lot of potential there

[matposton]

What about Unit 2 at Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant in Tennessee? First criticality was achieved in Unit 2 in May of 2016.

[thkugrace]

I like the smaller build, built uniformly offsite, passive cooling and already-approved plans concept.

[winstonsmith]

WHEN are we going to get anything close to Gen 4 reactors?

[johnjensen]

@5:45, the $12.5 billion in federal loan guarantees are just that, loan guarantees meaning that if the whole project went bust then the federal government would be on the hook for $12.5 billion. However if the project is successful in the end it’s the ratepayers that will be paying for the entire $30 billion cost.

[shenmisheshou]

No path to a fossil fuel free future exists that does not include nuclear power. We should be building a 80 or 90 new small reactor nuclear plants right now and the grid capacity needs to be increased 40%.

[mjs]

Good summary. I was in management on the AP1000 projects and was responsible for some key components on the Vogtle and VC Summer Plants. The factual short story you walked us through is accurate. However, and like with any bankruptcy, there were a series of bad decisions that were made at key points by senior management that suffered from a serious case of the Dunning-Kreuger effect. This was also the third time the Westinghouse Company went into bankruptcy.

[SoundFX]

There's One thing that you *Forgot* to mention Regarding the Future of Nuclear Power in the United States, and the Major Reason why Plant Vogtle was Delayed for So Long, along with the South Carolina Project being Terminated:
*ENDLESS LAWSUITS FROM ENVIORNMENTALIST AND ACTIVIST ORGANIZATIONS.*


It's something that the Mainstream Media NEVER reports on, but I'm from Augusta, GA (About 30-45 Minutes from Plant Vogtle), and there *WAS NOT A SINGLE YEAR* Where the Construction of Plant Vogtle Reactors 3 & 4 was not facing Some form of *LAWSUIT* from an Environmental or Political Activist Organization.
Those Lawsuits, from my perspective, are EXACTLY why the Cost of these Reactors DOUBLED over the course of their construction, and why the South Carolina Project was Terminated despite 60% of the Work Being Done.

I pray that the Successful Construction and Operation of Reactors 3 & 4 of Plant Vogtle will Encourage Other Governors in the United States to Start or Resume Construction of Nuclear Reactors for their Own States. LEARN FROM TEXAS: Solar and Wind Turbines Fans CANNOT, and WILL NOT, EVER provide the Power that a Nuclear Reactor can Generate!

Appreciate the Video, and I hope this Feedback Helps!

[sriharshacv]

My country is desperately looking for approved plans on Thorium reactors. Unfortunately, Uranium is something that is not available locally. Our researcher had made some progress and are plans for hybrid-ish reactors are in place . But having a fully functional, standalone Thorium based reactor (most likely a FBR) would be a great win in terms of energy (& the effect on climate change) for the planet considering how big India is in terms of population and her growing prosperity.