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Startup of Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Plant Delayed Again

October 12, 2017

Continued problems with construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant in Finland have pushed the facility’s expected start date into 2019, meaning operations will not begin until at least 10 years after the original proposed start of commercial service.

Project owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on October 9 announced further delays. TVO project director Jouni Silvennoinen in a statement said: “We are very disappointed by this additional delay. There is still substantial work to be accomplished in the project.”

The 1.6-GW Olkiluoto 3 project is being built by a group led by Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear group. The nuclear plant, where construction began in 2005, was originally expected to begin operation in 2009. According to an October 9 Reuters story: “An Areva spokesman said the reactor would produce its first power at the end of 2018, but the ramp-up to full production would delay the commercial start-up to May 2019. He said hot-testing would start in December 2017, nuclear fuel would be loaded in August 2018, first grid connection would be in December 2018 and the commercial start would be May 2019.”…

Entergy Gives Palisades Nuclear Plant Five More Years to Run

September 28, 2017

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Entergy Corp. will keep the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, open until the spring of 2022, owing to a shortfall in recovery granted to Consumers Energy by state regulators.

In a bid to actively exit the merchant nuclear power business, investor-owned Entergy had decided to shutter the 798-MW plant by October 1, 2018. “Market conditions have changed substantially, and more economic alternatives are now available to provide reliable power to the region,” it said when it announced its decision about a year ago.

The decision came as a surprise because Entergy has a power purchase agreement with Consumers Energy—Michigan’s largest utility and the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy—which committed the company to buying nearly all the power generated at Palisades through April 2022. Entergy reasoned the plant’s closure could save Consumers’ customers as much as $ 172 million over four years, even after Consumers paid Entergy $ 172 million to terminate the contract.

On September 22, however, the Michigan Public Service Commission granted Consumers a recovery of only $ 136.6 million of the $ 172 million it requested for the buyout of the power purchase agreement. …

Florida Nuclear Plants Will Shut Ahead of Irma

September 8, 2017

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Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest utility in Florida, said September 7 it would shut down its Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear power plants in the hopes of limiting potential damage from Hurricane Irma. The facilities are the only operating nuclear plants in the state.

FPL did not give specific timing for the shutdown, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said it expects Turkey Point, located south of Miami, will be taken offline the evening of September 8, with the St. Lucie facility on Hutchinson Island, north of West Palm Beach, likely being shut down early on September 9. The effects of Irma, which could be the most-destructive hurricane to ever strike Florida, are expected to be felt in south Florida on Saturday, with conditions worsening throughout the weekend.

The two plants are each about 20 feet above sea level. The plants are protected by concrete and steel barriers, and were further reinforced for protection after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, when floodwaters from a tsunami after an earthquake caused multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.…

UPDATED: SCANA, Santee Cooper Abandon V.C. Summer AP1000 Nuclear Units, Citing High Costs

August 1, 2017

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SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina.

The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $ 7 billion. The project, which was about 64% complete, has been in limbo since key contractor Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in March.

The decision comes just days after Westinghouse’s parent company Toshiba agreed to pay the two project owners nearly $ 2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished nuclear project. Toshiba reached a similar $ 3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Construction continues at the two Vogtle AP1000 units in Georgia. A project owner, Georgia Power, on July 28 told POWER that it expects to complete the cost-to-complete and schedule assessment by the end of August.…

Toshiba Will Pay $2.2 Billion to Exit Summer Nuclear Project

July 29, 2017

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SCANA Corp. and state-owned utility Santee Cooper on July 27 said Toshiba has agreed to pay nearly $ 2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina. Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse, which was building two nuclear units at the Summer site along with the troubled Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia, filed for bankruptcy in March.

Toshiba reached a similar $ 3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Decision on Summer’s Future Expected Soon

SCANA, represented by principal subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), and Santee Cooper in a statement on July 27 said they expect the cost to complete the Summer plant will “materially exceed” both Westinghouse’s estimates for completion and the payments from Toshiba, outlined as $ 2.168 billion over a five-year period. SCANA and Santee Cooper said they expect to decide soon whether they will continue with Summer’s construction, modify the project, or abandon it.…

Analysis Shows U.S. Nuclear Plants Losing $2.9 Billion Annually

June 17, 2017

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Increased use of less-expensive natural gas and renewable sources of energy for power generation is putting financial pressure on U.S. nuclear power plants, according to an analysis of electricity costs from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Nicholas Steckler, an analyst for BNEF, in a June 14 report said nuclear operators are losing about $ 2.9 billion a year. Steckler said nuclear plants are being paid $ 20/MWh to $ 30/MWh for their electricity, while their generation costs an average of $ 35/MWh.

The report says 34 of 61 U.S. nuclear plants are in the red. Steckler specifically cited merchant nuclear plants owned by FirstEnergy Corp., Entergy Corp., and Exelon.

In a statement, Entergy said it would not comment on individual plants but said “financial challenges due to sustained wholesale power price declines and unfavorable market conditions” are affecting the profitability of its nuclear operations. The company said it is now concentrating on its regulated utility business. Entergy, along with its wholesale commodities division, owns seven U.S.…