Why It’s So Hard To Build Nuclear Power Plants In The U.S.

Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga., is the largest source of clean energy in the U.S. following the addition of two new reactors, according to Georgia Power. The plant's Unit 4 reactor began commercial operations in April and Unit 3 went online last year. They are the first reactors built from scratch and connected to the grid in over three decades and together can power over a million homes and businesses, according to the utility provider.

But bringing a nuclear power plant to life is difficult and costly. The two new reactors at Plant Vogtle were initially budgeted at $14 billion, but that price tag more than doubled. The project also ran seven years behind schedule.

"We had some challenges, it was an arduous journey, things that we didn't anticipate," said Chris Womack, CEO of Southern Company. "From the tsunami in Fukushima to the contractor going bankrupt to Covid. There were a number of things that occurred.

The U.S. has 54 operating nuclear power plants and 94 reactors, making it the world's largest producer of nuclear power -- accounting for 30% of global nuclear electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

But reactors in the U.S. are 42 years old on average, and they're getting older. Replacing them is a complex task.

So why is it so hard to build nuclear reactors in the U.S. and should the new Vogtle reactors be a blueprint or a cautionary tale for the future?

Chapters:
0:00 - 2:25 Introduction
2:26 - 6:04 Chapter 1. Plant Vogtle
6:05 - 9:46 Chapter 2. Falling Behind
9:47 - 12:50 Chapter 3. Small modular reactors

Produced by: Shawn Baldwin
Edited by: Nic Golden Henry
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Reporter: Pippa Stevens
Animation: Christina Locopo
Additional Production: Harriet Taylor, Van Applegate
Additional Footage: Getty Images, NuScale Power, Southern Company

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Why It’s So Hard To Build Nuclear Power Plants In The U.S.

[beback_]

That anti-nuclear lawyer pretending to care about people's pockets was pretty amusing.

[ganaspin]

It's almost criminal how every time someone refers to the Fukushima disaster, media portrays images of the destruction brought upon by both the earthquake and tsunami, apparently implying (at least to people not familiar with the matter) that all that devastation was done by the nuclear accident.

[jaredspencer]

5:35
Southern Environmental Law Center: *does everything it can't to stop nuclear construction, and sues nuclear at ever step*
Also Southern Environmental Law Center: "Why is nuclear energy so expensive to build?"

[nickwinn]

Fear has dominated our thoughts about nuclear power for far too long. It's our only path to safe, clean, abundant, on demand power. I grew up next to a Nuclear power station, my family and friends all have worked there and all of them are still alive today. My father is 87, retired from being an engineer at the plant. We need to let our unreasonable fears go and embrace the future.

[adamoliver]

Its not building nuclear power plants thats the difficulty, its building large infrastructure and construction projects in general.

[odiewan]

I think the US is really shy about big infrastructure spending. Too much focus on instantaneous profitability. It's all about the share price and how corporations can fund ceo salaries.

[money]

that attorney lady sucks. shes literally on camera because shes suing the power plant. Shes is the problem.

[dwoolf]

We also need to include fuel-rod recycling like France. To reduce nuclear waste.

[schlechtgut]

nuclear is like aviation it's scary but the most safe actually

[iwiench]

Finally… about time!!! Nuclear is the only way to go for efficiency.

[ThePiemoney]

I'm sure big oil doesn't have anything to do with the challenges

[andrewferrauiolo]

I think peoples fear, uneducation, backwards thinking, and politics will never let nuclear power plants to come back

[forrestking]

I worked as an electrician building unit 4, and from my personal observation, the biggest hangup on the project was the contractor (Bechtel). They controlled the workflow and we had to work off of "work packages", if you were working in an area and did not have a work package, you would be fired. There were many times when crews would finish their work in an area and would have to wait months to get their next work package for another area. They also did not hire enough field engineers, we needed to have all of our work inspected by engineers and southern company quality control, we would be always waiting on the engineers to show up just to drill holes, mount supports, or finish out a package. The problem is our power grid being owned by private corporations that only care about profit, if we cut out the contractor middle man and the nukes were just state owned enterprises, we could build them much faster and much much cheaper.

[KevinSmith-qiyn]

Environmental Lawyer talking about unexpected costs not taking into account they are the reason for the unexpected costs.
I didn't know the US was the #1 producer of Nuclear Energy. I just assumed it was France or Russia.

[anandawijesinghe]

This video did not adequately explain why it has become difficult to build Nuclear Reactors in the USA. These factors are not all technical, safety, waste disposal related, or economic, but are regulatory and political. We need a more in-depth multi-part analysis and expose' of the issues underlying these difficulties.

[TheLiamster]

I really wish nuclear power was used more than it currently is. It’s the safest, most reliable and efficient way of generating low carbon electricity. It’s expensive to build initially but the lifetime costs are low and can produce electricity 24/7 rather than intermittent sources like wind and solar. At one point in the 60s, there were projected to be over 1000 plants in the US but most were canceled due to public backlash and financial difficulties. If there was more support from the public and the government then I believe there could be a comeback for nuclear power in the future

[FXRunner]

Energy needs will only continue to rise over time. Renewables are pulling some weight, but if we want to meet these needs while rotating out of fossil fuels - the only answer is Nuclear.

[justinjones]

This should actually speed up the rate at which they can deploy nuclear reactors because you now have a construction contractor that has experience doing it if anything this should be a reason to go full speed ahead on nuclear

[ajn-jets]

$400 power bills are still crazy cheap, most people in my town in Mass are now paying $800-1000 every month for a 2000 sq ft house

[WHATISUTUBE]

I talked to a guy who worked in power plants all his life, and he said the amount of safety and precautions with nuclear plants is extremely high. Everything is accounted for, the the tiniest screw. Bagged, tagged, and placed in database.