New Nuke plant coming on line

This article demonstrates the almost impossible financial hurdle that these plants have to overcome.

Quote:

---

A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in one of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Monday, a key step toward reaching commercial operation at the first new nuclear reactors built from scratch in decades in the United States.

The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said operators reached self-sustaining nuclear fission inside the reactor at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. That makes the intense heat that will be used to produce steam and spin turbines to generate electricity.

A third and a fourth reactor were approved for construction at Vogtle by the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2009, and the third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016. The company now says Unit 3 could begin commercial operation in May or June.

---

That's good news. Now, if only we could use the way-back machine and start a few more of them ~15-20 years ago............

Mike makes a good point about our past (trivial) efforts to bring such power online. Perhaps one reason could be that our leaders/legislators thought fusion/fission was rapidly advancing - thus creating a situation wherein whatever we launched would become obsolete by the time it was operational. For example, do any of us put off buying a new laptop 'cause a year will bring advances aplenty? I did that.

Hunter