Controversial - The resurrection of VC Summer

[OVERKILL]

Since the successful, albeit, incredibly over time and over budget completion of Vogtle, making the site the largest nuclear facility in the US, surpassing Palo Verde, it was only a matter of time until the subject of resurrecting the abandoned VC Summer project, the site of two more AP1000 reactors, was broached.

And how.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/7-years-sc-nuclear-debacle-230656625.html

This comes on the heels of an agreement with Microsoft to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 with a guaranteed PPA and Amazon now investing in SMR technology. As the large tech giants begin to pivot toward nuclear and supporting the resurrection of previously shuttered sites and the construction of new ones, it was inevitable that partially completed plants like VC Summer and Seabrook would be brought up.

If a private party steps in to fund the completion, or, if Southern Company, the owner of Vogtle, were to get involved, the resurrection and completion of VC Summer becomes quite likely.

The AP1000 is, objectively, a fantastic reactor design and it would be logical for the US to capitalize on the experience of Vogtle and build more of them, driving down the cost and time required.

 

[johnmyster]

Federally guaranteed funds for green energy changes things.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Since the successful, albeit, incredibly over time and over budget completion of Vogtle, making the site the largest nuclear facility in the US, surpassing Palo Verde, it was only a matter of time until the subject of resurrecting the abandoned VC Summer project, the site of two more AP1000 reactors, was broached.

View attachment 245779

And how.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/7-years-sc-nuclear-debacle-230656625.html

View attachment 245778

This comes on the heels of an agreement with Microsoft to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 with a guaranteed PPA and Amazon now investing in SMR technology. As the large tech giants begin to pivot toward nuclear and supporting the resurrection of previously shuttered sites and the construction of new ones, it was inevitable that partially completed plants like VC Summer and Seabrook would be brought up.

The US has a few other abandoned reactors. Alabama and Long Island NY come come to mind.


On a side note you may be interested in this.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/09/us-supreme-court-west-texas-nuclear-waste-plan/

 

[OVERKILL]

The US has a few other abandoned reactors. Alabama and Long Island NY come come to mind.


On a side note you may be interested in this.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/09/us-supreme-court-west-texas-nuclear-waste-plan/

Yes, the US has struggled with long term disposal (unlike France and Finland) and lags behind Canada in getting that established. Finland's DGR is now constructed and in testing and Canada finally has two willing host communities for ours, so we are at site selection, then construction.

Apparently, there is also ongoing discussions about SNF reprocessing, using PUREX, which has been going on in France for decades, but would be a game changer for the US.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

We need these like America needs one of these involved in a terror attack. They are hard selling you on a myth they just don't how to really step up to yet!

 

[wavinwayne]

The US has a few other abandoned reactors. Alabama and Long Island NY come come to mind.

Right down the street from me. I wish they would finish it.

 

[Rand]

they are hard selling you on a myth they just don't how to really step up to yet!

Please expound on this statement.
What's your plan? What will provide increasing amounts of energy to the grid 24/7 rain or shine, snow, wind/calm etc.
While overall grid demand is going up fast, and Coal is practically outlawed.

 

[benjamming]

Right down the street from me. I wish they would finish it.

Bellefonte would have to be started over. It's been pillaged of everything.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Please expound on this statement.
What's your plan? What will provide increasing amounts of energy to the grid 24/7 rain or shine, snow, wind/calm etc.
While overall grid demand is going up fast, and Coal is practically outlawed.

Well for starter they still don't have a real fix for Chernobyl or Fukushima they have just continued with the lie! But you can believe what you want or explain the real fix we will see near term before they build anymore of these accidents waiting to happen.

 

[wavinwayne]

Bellefonte would have to be started over. It's been pillaged of everything.

100% agree, which is why I doubt it will ever happen. But hope springs eternal.

 

[wavinwayne]

Well for starter they still don't have a real fix for Chernobyl or Fukushima they have just continued with the lie! But you can believe what you want or explain the real fix we will see near term before they build anymore of these accidents waiting to happen.

What is the lie, in your estimation?

 

[wwillson]

Well for starter they still don't have a real fix for Chernobyl or Fukushima

What real fix are you hoping for?

 

[OVERKILL]

Well for starter they still don't have a real fix for Chernobyl or Fukushima they have just continued with the lie! But you can believe what you want or explain the real fix we will see near term before they build anymore of these accidents waiting to happen.

Bro, Chornobyl was a graphite moderated Soviet reactor with no containment, invoking that in this conversation like it is relevant to modern PWR's is an immediate red flag that you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[PandaBear]

Yes, the US has struggled with long term disposal (unlike France and Finland) and lags behind Canada in getting that established. Finland's DGR is now constructed and in testing and Canada finally has two willing host communities for ours, so we are at site selection, then construction.

Apparently, there is also ongoing discussions about SNF reprocessing, using PUREX, which has been going on in France for decades, but would be a game changer for the US.

Nobody wants to pay for SNF when profit is involved. US has lots of vacant land nobody knows what to do with and the cheapest solution is "temporary storage" until they can legally be classified as background or trace. Then they would likely be dumped somewhere.

The problem is, how many political power do you know who could reliably stay in power for 500 years without a civil war, to promise you anything?

I really wish someone can find a way to use these SNF for low quality heat somewhere, or invent a cheap way to reprocess so that the half life of long half-life waste and mid half life waste can be separated to reduce the waste volume affordably.

 

[wwillson]

Bro, Chornobyl was a graphite moderated Soviet reactor with no containment, invoking that in this conversation like it is relevant to modern PWR's is an immediate red flag that you have no idea what you are talking about.

And at one time the Soviets were asked not to build RBMKs because it is well understood that they can be unstable.

 

[OVERKILL]

And at one time the Soviets were asked not to build RBMKs because it is well understood that they can be unstable.

The Wikipedia page for the RBMK is TERRIFYING, lol.

 

[jhellwig]

Well for starter they still don't have a real fix for Chernobyl or Fukushima they have just continued with the lie! But you can believe what you want or explain the real fix we will see near term before they build anymore of these accidents waiting to happen.

The fix is not building them like that anymore. Which has been done.

Per watt/hour generated you could have a few more chernobyls before it reaches the amount of pollution coal, oil and gas fired makes.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

The fix is not building them like that anymore. Which has been done.

Per watt/hour generated you could have a few more chernobyls before it reaches the amount of pollution coal, oil and gas fired makes.

So are you suggesting the biggest polluter of coal energy China is moving away from this. We just keep looking forward and forget the real dangers of nuclear power? Fukushima was not an RBMK and the problem there still exists with no real resolution in site.

 

[OVERKILL]

So are you suggesting the biggest polluter of coal energy China is moving away from this. We just keep looking forward and forget the real dangers of nuclear power? Fukushima was not an RBMK and the problem there still exists with no real resolution in site.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...e-allowed-to-move-back-in-after-11-years.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2320/

 

[SC Maintenance]

Bro, Chornobyl was a graphite moderated Soviet reactor with no containment, invoking that in this conversation like it is relevant to modern PWR's is an immediate red flag that you have no idea what you are talking about.

3 mile island proves Humans are capable of screwing almost anything up.