Georgia opens first US nuclear plants licensed in 8 years
$35 Billion Georgia nuclear reactors are celebrated, and Biden Administration wants 98 more
From the Associated Press
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated, “We have to at least triple our current nuclear capacity in this country to reach our goal of getting to net zero by 2050” while celebrating the nearly $35 billion investment in new reactors at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle.
While U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm celebrated the recent opening of tower three at Georgia’s Plant Vogle, she also made it very clear that the U.S. has a ton of work ahead. There are currently 93 commercially operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. spread out across 54 sites and 28 states, and nuclear currently accounts for just under 20% of electricity generation. According to Granholm, nuclear capacity needs to expand by 3x in order for the country to hit its emissions goals.
Even those who don’t care about climate change want more nuclear. Per the article, “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp floated the idea of a fifth Vogtle reactor. Although the Republican Kemp rarely discusses climate change, he has made electric vehicles a priority and has said new industries demand carbon-free electricity.”
And if there’s a bipartisan will, there’s certainly a way. Despite projects being long delayed and way over budget, there seems to be the political desire to support and prioritize nuclear buildout.
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration said that it would create a working group to make it easier to build nuclear, and proposed some ideas that we can get behind (and discussed on Age of Miracles):
- Military reactor purchases to help bring nuclear down the cost curve.
- Replacing closing coal plants with small reactors.
- Further streamline licensing (we’d prefer to see the NRC shut down, but hey)
Those measures, combined with growing nuclear popularity and a rising class of nuclear startups, may be enough to overcome the boundaries that have prevented previous nuclear buildouts in this country.
More energy is good. Let’s go build it.